Open Library Economics (OLEcon) is an initiative of the ZBW Leibniz Information Centre for Economics. OLEcon offers journal editors support to publish in Diamond Open Access by either helping them to flip their journal or, in the case of a new publication, to appear directly in Diamond Open Access. Existing open access journals can also apply for OLEcon funding. Cost transparency plays an important role for OLEcon.First of all, in the application of journals for funding. Journal editors and the publishing service providers have to make their cost structure transparent to be able to apply for funding. The journals that receive funding through the OLEcon consortium are also scholar-led, and the criteria that these journals must fulfil will be reviewed again after three years.Second, OLEcon makes the financing model for the journals that are funded by OLEcon transparent. The financing of the journals currently comes from three different sources: A financing consortium, ZBW’s information budget and, from 2023 to 2026, from project funding from the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR).The main part of the financing is achieved via a community model. Different institutions worldwide contribute together to the financing of Diamond Open Access. The co-financing in the consortium is renewed each year. Institutions can join the consortium in annual pledging rounds. The amount of money that institutions contribute to the financing of Diamond Open Access is determined by the number of students and academic staff. Overall, there are three different tiers.
Ronja Kuhlwilm (Thu,) studied this question.