Collective Development Fund Grants for Open Access Scholarly Books

The Open Book Collective, a UK-registered charity, is inviting applications for its Collective Development Fund to support public education by increasing access to open-access scholarly books and the infrastructures that sustain them. This initiative is part of the Open Book Futures program, building on Copim’s Community-led Open Publication Infrastructures for Monographs project.

Objective

The fund seeks to support projects that:

• Develop and maintain infrastructures and workflows for the distribution, cataloguing, and preservation of open-access scholarly books.

• Build and sustain networks and advocacy to promote open-access scholarly books and infrastructures.

• Strengthen capacity for scholarly open-access book publishing, particularly through collaborative, community-based approaches.

Funding Details

• Grant amounts:

  • 1–3 grants of up to £7,500

  • 1–2 grants of up to £15,000

• Project duration: Maximum 12 months, with all projects funded in 2026 required to be completed by the end of 2027.

• Equity commitment: At least 30% of total funding will go to applicants from or projects benefiting Low and Middle Income Countries (World Bank classification). Smaller grant requests will not be disadvantaged.

Eligibility

• Eligible applicants:

  • Individuals, teams, and non-profit organizations worldwide

  • Both new and established initiatives

• Ineligible:

  • For-profit enterprises

  • Staff of the Open Book Collective

  • Applicants from countries under UK sanctions or banking restrictions

• Application languages: English, French, Portuguese, or Spanish

• Limit: Only one proposal per applicant per call

Key Principles

The fund prioritizes initiatives that align with the Open Book Collective’s core values:

• Commitment to high-quality open-access scholarly books

• Support for bibliodiversity and community-based approaches

• Collaboration over competition; horizontal working relationships

• Scaling small rather than scaling up

• Ensuring global barrier-free access to academic books

Conclusion

The Collective Development Fund offers a strategic opportunity for organizations and teams worldwide to advance open-access scholarly publishing. By supporting infrastructure, networks, advocacy, and capacity-building, the fund aims to expand equitable access to academic knowledge, strengthen collaborative networks, and promote sustainable, community-led models in scholarly publishing.