This is a ‘completed’ financial sustainability template, based on a fictional journal. It is based on the Financial sustainability template for Diamond open access (OA) journals, and shows how a journal team might fill in each tab in the template and interpret the results.
Both the filled-in fictional template and the template are designed for use alongside the Financial sustainability planning toolkit for Diamond OA journals.
The figures in the filled-in fictional template are illustrative and based on typical East African academic pay and publishing costs. They are not drawn from any real institution or journal.
The example shows how to value in-kind contributions from the editorial and production teams, project cash costs as article volume grows, plan funding, run the contingency test and set out concrete next steps with named leads, deadlines and an annual review date.
Users can study the example before filling in their own, real financial sustainability template, or use it as a reference point when drafting their own sustainability plan with the companion Financial sustainability planning toolkit for Diamond OA journals.
How to cite: Johnson, R. (2026). EIFL - Diamond OA financial sustainability template - Worked Example. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23729175
EIFL commissioned Rob Johnson of Research Consulting to develop the Financial sustainability planning toolkit for Diamond OA journals and its companion resources within the framework of the three-year ‘Collaboration for Sustainable Open Access Publishing in Africa’ project, implemented by EIFL, AJOL (African Journals Online) and WACREN (the West and Central African Research and Education Network), with funding from Wellcome. Through the project, EIFL awarded grants to 33 projects aiming to strengthen Diamond OA journals. Input from EIFL and the EIFL grantees helped to ensure that the toolkit reflects the needs and experiences of the journals and publishing communities they aim to support. Although developed in the context of Africa, the toolkit can be used by journals and publishing organizations worldwide.
