Work With OAPA

Launch or transfer your journal with a trusted scholar-led publishing partner.

OAPA works with associations, universities, and editorial teams to establish new journals and support the transfer of existing titles into a sustainable open publishing environment.

Our model is designed for journal owners who want credible infrastructure, strong editorial development, and long-term publishing support without losing disciplinary identity, academic leadership, or strategic control.

A clear partnership model for scholarly journals

OAPA supports journals through a partnership model that clearly distinguishes between ownership, editorial leadership, and publishing operations. This helps journals remain academically led while benefiting from professional systems, training, and publishing support.

This model is particularly well suited to association-owned, university-owned, and community-led journals that want to strengthen sustainability, reduce administrative burden, and build long-term publishing quality.

The three key roles in the journal model

Owner

The Owner is typically an association, university, scholarly society, or other academic body with a mission to advance knowledge in a disciplinary or interdisciplinary field. The Owner provides the journal’s strategic purpose, ensures alignment with its mission, and appoints the Editor-in-Chief.

Editor-in-Chief

The Editor-in-Chief is the lead editor appointed by the Owner to advance the aims and scope of the journal. The Editor-in-Chief sets editorial policy, leads editorial decision-making, appoints or recommends members of the editorial team, and safeguards the scholarly quality and direction of the journal.

Publisher

OAPA acts as the Publisher. We manage publishing technology and workflow systems, support indexing readiness and management, and provide training and development to strengthen editorial capability. Our role is to support the journal’s operations, visibility, and sustainability while working in partnership with the Owner and Editor-in-Chief.

Two pathways to partner with OAPA

Launch a New Journal

For associations, universities, and editorial teams seeking to establish a new journal with credible publishing infrastructure and developmental support from the outset.

  • Establish a new journal aligned to a disciplinary mission or scholarly community
  • Build with a clear ownership, editorial, and publishing structure
  • Set up sustainable workflows and editorial systems from the beginning
  • Develop capability for editors and peer reviewers alongside journal growth

Transfer an Existing Journal

For journals seeking a more stable publishing home, stronger operational support, or a more sustainable open access future.

  • Move from an unsustainable or fragmented setup into a supported environment
  • Retain journal identity, scope, and academic leadership
  • Strengthen publishing systems, indexing readiness, and continuity
  • Support editorial succession and long-term journal viability

What OAPA supports

Core journal support package: $2,350 AUD per year

OAPA’s annual support package is designed to provide a practical and sustainable foundation for journal operations, editorial development, and publishing visibility.

Hosting: Journal hosting within OAPA’s publishing environment and systems.
✓
Indexing auditing and management: Support to monitor indexing readiness, maintain standards, and strengthen discoverability.
✓
Editor-in-Chief Council membership: Gain access to the Editor-in-Chief Council to support leadership and shared practice.
✓
Editor training: Two places in Foundations of Academic Journal Editing for new editors.
✓
Peer review training: Two places in Foundations of Academic Peer Review to strengthen journal peer review processes.
✓
CLOCKSS archiving: Long-term preservation support through CLOCKSS archiving.
✓
ORCID ID linking: ORCID integration to support author identity and metadata quality.
✓
OAPA memberships: Five OAPA memberships for editors connected to the journal.
✓
Integrated conference scheduling application: Optional support for journals or associations running conference-linked programs.
Price on request
iThenticate plagiarism checking: Optional plagiarism detection support for editorial workflows.
Price on request
Copyediting support: Optional copyediting services to support manuscript quality and publication readiness.
Price on request

Why partner with OAPA?

Protect academic leadership

Journals can retain a clear ownership and editorial model while benefiting from stronger publishing systems and support.

Reduce operational burden

OAPA helps reduce pressure on editors and owners by supporting publishing systems, training, and development needs.

Support long-term sustainability

Our model helps journals strengthen continuity, capability, visibility, and resilience over time.

What to include in your enquiry

To help us understand your journal and needs, it is useful to include:

  • the name of the journal or proposed title
  • whether you are launching a new journal or transferring an existing one
  • the Owner organisation involved
  • the journal’s field, scope, and intended audience
  • the current or proposed Editor-in-Chief structure
  • any current publishing arrangements or platform details
  • the kind of support you are seeking

Talk to OAPA about your journal

We welcome early conversations with associations, universities, and editorial teams exploring a new journal or considering the transfer of an existing title.

Contact partnerships@open-publishing.org to begin the conversation.