Hawassa University in Ethiopia has initiated a project that aims to enhance the quality and sustainability of five journals: Hawassa University Journal of Law, the Journal of Science and Development, the East African Journal of Biophysical and Computational Science, the ETIOINQUIRY Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities and the Journal of Forestry and Natural Resources.
The five journals are Diamond open access journals published by the university.
All 102 editorial team members and technical staff of the five journals, and peer reviewers, will receive training to update their understanding of editorial process and best practices and standards in Diamond open access journal publishing. Journal policies will be reviewed and updated, and a sustainability plan for the five journals, including strategies on funding, operations and resource sharing, will be developed.
In addition, a comprehensive quality audit of the past publications will take place, recurring limitations will be identified and a corrective action plan developed. The project will lead to the development of processes and procedures for regular quality audits of published articles for each of the five journals in future. To improve discoverability and visibility, the five journals will apply for indexing in reputable international services.
The project is one of 33 that have received grant support through a three-year project to strengthen no-fee open access publishing in Africa implemented by EIFL, AJOL (African Journals Online) and WACREN (the West and Central African Research and Education Network), with funding from Wellcome.
Activities
- Building capacity of editorial and technical staff of the five journals, and peer reviewers
- Reviewing and updating journal policies
- Developing a sustainability plan for the five journals
- Conducting a quality audit of past editions, and developing a corrective plan and processes and procedures for regular quality audits of the five journals in future
- Applying for indexing in international journal indexing services
Timeline
November 2025 - October 2026
More about the five journals -
