Open Access book publications

The application can be submitted by an author of the book or by a member of the editorial team for an edited volume. The personal requirements apply to all applicants.

Personal requirements

For a monograph, the applicant must fulfil one of the following conditions:

• The applicant fulfils the general requirements for submitting an application to the SNSF in accordance with Art. 10 of the Funding Regulations. At the time of application, they are employed at a Swiss higher education institution with a work-time percentage of at least 50 per cent.
• The book publication for which the application is being submitted is demonstrably the result of SNSF-funded research. The application can be submitted by the grant recipient or by a project staff member even after the grant has ended, without any deadline.

For a dissertation or a habilitation, the applicant must fulfil one of the following conditions:

• The applicant fulfils the general requirements for submitting an application to the SNSF in accordance with Art. 10 of the Funding Regulations. At the time of application, they are employed at a Swiss higher education institution with a work-time percentage of at least 50 per cent.
• The book publication for which the application is being submitted is demonstrably the result of SNSF-funded research. The application can be submitted by the grant recipient or by a project staff member even after the grant has ended, without any deadline.
• The dissertation or habilitation was defended and accepted at a Swiss higher education institution.

For an edited volume, the applicant must fulfil the following condition:

The applicant fulfils the general requirements for submitting an application to the SNSF in accordance with Art. 10 of the Funding Regulations. At the time of application, they are employed at a Swiss higher education institution with a work-time percentage of at least 50 per cent.

Funding Regulations (PDF)

The SNSF funds monographs (including dissertations, habilitations, legal commentaries and editions) and edited volumes. The funding's main purpose is to publish research results. The book publications must have proven academic added value and be primarily aimed at an academic audience.

• Monographs are comprehensive, academic and peer-reviewed works.
• Dissertations and habilitations are considered to be monographs if the thesis submitted to the higher education institution has been prepared for publication as a book in cooperation with a publisher. The applicant has not only revised their thesis in accordance with the examiners' reports but also adapted the text to meet the publisher's requirements, for example in terms of readability.
• An edited volume is an academic, peer-reviewed work with contributions written by different authors. The topic of the edited volume connects the contributions in a cohesive publication and is explained by one or more editors in a well-founded introduction.

The SNSF does not fund textbooks, special issues of journals, conference proceedings, new editions or translations.

Guidelines for the peer review process

The publisher is responsible for the quality assurance of the book publication in accordance with the SNSF's guidelines. The publisher must obtain at least one external, independent and meaningful review in written form and document the peer-review process in a written statement. The reviewer must be independent both in relation to the applicant and the authors as well as in relation to the publisher. The SNSF does not accept reviews of book proposals.

For dissertations or habilitations, publishers may use the reviews by the higher education institution for the peer review process.

For edited volumes, the external peer review must cover both the volume as a whole and each individual contribution.

On the documentation of the peer review process, see "Specific information for publishers".

Peer review process

When submitting the application, the applicant must be able to provide evidence of a peer review process for the book manuscript. This will be carried out by the publisher. The following specifications must be taken into account:

• At least one independent, external and meaningful review in written form is required.
• A review of the entire manuscript; the SNSF does not accept reviews of the book proposal.
• The reviewer demonstrably fulfils the SNSF's rules on conflicts of interests and is independent both in relation to the applicant and the authors as well as in relation to the publisher. He/she is therefore not involved in the selection of the manuscript and the production of the publication by the publisher (e.g. as a series editor). More information on the SNSF's rules on conflicts of interests can be found in section 3 of the guidelines.
• For edited volumes, the review must assess both the academic quality of the entire volume and each individual contribution.
• For dissertations and habilitations, the publisher may use the examiners' reports compiled by the higher education institution.

The applicant invites the publisher via the mySNF online platform to upload documentation of the peer review process in the application form. This documentation includes:

• At least one independent, external and meaningful review in written form (for dissertations and habilitations, the examiners' reports compiled by the higher education institution).
• A signed and dated statement from the publisher regarding any points of criticism in the review and the extent to which the manuscript was revised in response to those points. The publisher also confirms that the submitted manuscript is ready for publication.

Payment

The SNSF generally pays the approved grants directly to the publisher. Payment is made exclusively in Swiss francs. Any value added tax must already be included in the requested amount.

The SNSF does not act as the addressee of contracts, invoices or reminders. The contracting parties are the grant recipient and the publisher.

Key information for publishers is also summarised in the document below.

Submission of applications

You can submit your request at any time via the mySNF online platform – under "Scientific Communication – Open Access Books".

An application can be submitted as soon as the manuscript is ready for publication. This means that the peer review process has been completed and the manuscript has been revised in line with the reviewers' suggestions. The peer review process and the subsequent revision must also be documented.

Funding

The SNSF expects publishers to provide a transparent offer for open access book publications on their websites. We reimburse the publisher's services for quality assurance, book production and distribution (see section 2 of the guidelines). Only the actual costs incurred are covered. We reserve the right to request proof of the requested sums. They should be based on a quote from the publisher and should already include any applicable value-added tax.

Guidelines for funding open access book publications (PDF)

Supplementary modules

In addition to the base module, you can apply for supplementary modules, depending on the scope and features of your book publication:

• Base module: for book publications up to 750,000 characters, maximum CHF 15,000.
• Supplementary module "length (number of characters)": for book publications with more than 750,000 characters, plus CHF 3,000; or with more than 1 million characters, plus CHF 5,000.
• Supplementary module "layout and image rights": for proven additional costs for special layout requirements and image rights, plus a maximum of CHF 5,000 (a quote is required).
• Supplementary module "enriched e-book": with additional functions such as audio and video files, interactive elements, etc., plus a maximum of CHF 5,000 (a quote is required).
• Supplementary module "foreign language editing": If the book is published in a language other than the author's native language and this results in demonstrable additional costs for editing, plus a maximum of CHF 5,000 (a quote is required).

You are free to publish a printed book in parallel to the open access version. However, the SNSF does not contribute to printing costs. If the publication also appears in print, the SNSF grant is to be used exclusively for the digital version.

Evaluation procedure

Applications are generally evaluated within two months.

Decision and release of funds

Following the completion of the evaluation, the SNSF will inform you of its decision. Your publication may not be published before then.

Once you have received the favourable decision (ruling), you must send a request to the SNSF to release the funds within one year of the date of the decision at the latest. The SNSF then pays the grant to the publisher. We also ask you to enter initial information about the book publication in the output data on mySNF (for metadata, see section 6 of the guidelines).

The book must be published within six months of the grant being released.

Guidelines for funding open access book publications (PDF)

Publication

The publisher publishes the funded book publication in a clearly visible manner on its website. The open access version must be published at the same time as the print version at the latest.

The copyright page of the OA version must contain the following information:

• mention of the SNSF's funding of the publication (acknowledgement)
• a CC BY-NY-ND (Creative Commons: created by, non-commercial, no derivative) is the minimum requirement. The SNSF recommends the CC BY licence.
• a DOI number (Digital Object Identifier).
• an ISBN number. If other versions (e.g. a printed book) are published in addition to the SNSF-funded one, a separate ISBN number is usually assigned to each version.
• year of publication

The author or the editor also deposits the book publication in an institutional or discipline-specific repository. The SNSF forwards the OA publication along with the metadata to the Swiss National Library and the OAPEN Library.