In the three years of its existence, the GOAL project has produced the following results:

• A database of all negotiated (Green) Open Access policies has been created. It is openly available and will continue to grow and develop after the end of the project.

Note: If you are aware of a Swiss journal or publisher with an Open Access policy, you can suggest it for inclusion in the GOAL database using the feedback form at the bottom of the page.

• Two journal articles that expand our knowledge of Open Access in general and Green Open Access in particular are also an important outcome of the project. The articles “(Grün) Open Access von unten organisieren” (Bibliotheksdienst, 2024) and “Back to Green. Das Projekt GOAL und das Potenzial von Grün Open Access” (Libreas, 2023) are available in the digitalcollection (see below in the publication list) as well as in the Zenodo community of the project.

• Support material for librarians and/or publishers wishing to develop a Green Open Access policy. A template (EN/DE/FR) for the self-development of a Green Open Access policy for a journal has been published and other support materials are in preparation. The templates are available on digitalcollection (see below in the publication list) and in the Zenodo community.

• A Python script as part of a pilot project to semi-automate the collection process and processing steps of bibliographic metadata of articles and full texts published in the professional journals “Krankenpflege” (ISSN: 0253-0465) and “GERONTOLOGIE CH. Praxis + Forschung” by members of Swiss higher education institutions (HEI). A link to the script can be found in digitalcollection as well as in the Zenodo community.

• The project has also sought to enrich the public debate on Open Access by organising and participating in webinars, conferences, and presentations, and by providing information to swissuniversities whenever possible. Examples are the two posters and the presentation at the Open Access Days 2022 to 2024 or the presentation at the Bibliosuisse Conference 2023. Both posters as well as other materials related to the participation in conferences can be found on digitalcollection as well as in the Zenodo community.

The GOAL (Unlocking the Green Open Access potentiaL in scholarly and professional journals in Switzerland) project aims to promote so-called green road to Open Access to scholarly and application-oriented journals. These journals are particularly relevant to universities of applied sciences and universities of teacher education. However, they were not covered by existing Open Access funding measures so far.

Project aim

The aim of the GOAL project is to negotiate and implement secondary publication policies with the editorial teams of application-oriented journals. In this way, publications in the most important journals could be made accessible in (institutional) repositories such as ZHAW digitalcollection.

The GOAL project runs from January 2022 to December 2024 and is co-funded by swissuniversities. The university library of ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences leads the project. Our partner institutions are Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU), University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and University of Teacher Education Fribourg (HEP | PH FR). Further information can be found on the GOAL website.