This month, a new effort to reshape academic publishing officially launches. 

Called the Open Journals Collective, the initiative brings together nearly 300 scholarly journals committed to a diamond open access model, one that charges neither readers nor authors. Global Health: Science and Practice (GHSP), published by the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, has been selected as one of the collective’s inaugural journals. 

Established in 2025, the Open Journals Collective emerged in response to growing dissatisfaction with commercial publishing models that dominate academic research. These models typically rely on subscription fees paid by libraries or article processing charges that can cost authors thousands of dollars per paper to make their work openly available, This often limits access to important research that could otherwise inform policy and practice globally. 

For GHSP, joining the Open Journals Collective reflects a long-standing commitment, not a shift in philosophy.  

“Since its inception, GHSP has really been focused on an equitable publishing model,” said CCP’s Ruwaida Salem, managing editor of the journal. “We don’t charge readers or authors, and that approach has helped to foster a global community of engaged public health practitioners, researchers, and policymakers.” 

That commitment was tested after the journal lost funding tied to USAID. As the editorial team explored options for financial sustainability, charging author fees surfaced as a potential solution. 

“It just didn’t sit right with us,” Salem says. “At the heart of GHSP’s mission has always been a commitment to open access. With over half of our readers and authors from low- and middle-income countries, eliminating financial barriers to vital health knowledge is especially critical.” 

GHSP is currently being managed by CCP, which raised more than $5,000 in individual donations since August 2025 to support the journal’s diamond open access model. CCP continues to explore additional funding streams to sustain the journal, including sponsorships and partnerships. 

The Open Journals Collective is expected to provide some financial support, although the amount will depend on the initiative’s success. 

Instead of charging authors or readers, the collective aims to raise funds from libraries, consortia, and other institutions. Those contributions will be pooled and distributed to participating journals to help cover operating costs. The goal is to redirect a portion of the funding that libraries already spend on commercial journal subscriptions toward community-governed, nonprofit journals, such as GHSP. 

The initiative is led by Caroline Edwards of the University of London, who previously co-founded the Open Library of Humanities. The collective is designed to create “a sustainable, community-led alternative to corporate big deals and the so-called transformative agreements between publishers and libraries that haven’t worked,” Salem says. 

Oversight comes from an international board that includes library directors, intellectual property specialists, and open research leaders from institutions such as Princeton University, Harvard, MIT, Yale and the University of Edinburgh. 

GHSP’s participation signals a continued commitment to keeping global health evidence open, accessible, and grounded in equity, without shifting costs onto the people who produce or rely on that knowledge. 

From CCP’s perspective, the Open Journals Collective aligns with both GHSP’s values and its financial realities. While funding from the collective is not expected to cover all of the journal’s costs, it represents an important part of a broader sustainability strategy, says Cassandra Mickish Gross, CCP’s director of business development. 

Despite ongoing uncertainty, GHSP continues to publish. Recent articles have documented how global health programs are navigating funding interruptions and managing transitions, work the editors see as especially important in the current moment. 

“There’s a responsibility for the journal to take account of what’s happening,” Salem says. “Even if we can’t change the broader picture, we can share the innovations that emerge  from these new funding challenges.” 

The December 2025 issue of GHSP can be found here. Editors are continuing to work through a backlog of submissions from prior to January 2025, when USAID began closing its doors, and are preparing to reopen the journal for new submissions in 2026. 

Individuals interested in supporting GHSP are encouraged to donate by selecting Global Health Science and Practice Journal as your gift designation. 

Foundations, corporations, and other organizations interested in supporting GHSP are encouraged to contact CCP’s Business Development team at ccpbd@jhu.edu. CCP welcomes funding commitments of all sizes and durations, from short-term contributions to long-term partnerships.