Research Center on the Circulation of Knowledge CECIC, UNCuyo-FCPyS, Mendoza, Argentina

The results of the international survey conducted by the GRIP-APC project are now openly available in Zenodo.

Between 2023 and 2024, a team of international researchers, led by Fernanda Beigel (CECIC-CONICET) and funded by the Global Research institute of Paris, studied the impact of article processing charges (APCs) in four countries: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa. The results of the first phase of the project offer insight into how scientists in non-hegemonic contexts respond to transformations in the publishing ecosystem resulting from the development of open access.

The study collected primary data from 13,577 responses to an online questionnaire administered to scientific researchers in four target countries between August 2023 and February 2024. The main objective of this survey was to gather detailed information about researchers’ positions in their national fields, their publishing practices, access to funding, and their perceptions of open access and article processing charges (APCs). The research team designed the survey and translated it into Portuguese and Spanish, incorporating adaptations to each country’s scientific systems and career guidelines. Respondent confidentiality was prioritized, with all sensitive information removed from the dataset prior to publication.

The GRIP-APC study has generated a comprehensive set of resources that broaden our understanding of open access publishing in the Global South. Key results include an open database with the survey, references to articles in indexed journals on APC practices and national funding agency policies, a technical report on the context in Brazil, and preprints that preview future scientific communications by the team. Together, these contributions provide a better understanding of the ways in which researchers in Latin America and Africa are facing the new trends in scientific communication. At the same time, they offer recommendations on how to address the challenges that the commercial business models pose to equitable participation in the circulation of knowledge.

All results are openly available in the project’s Zenodo Community. Below is a list of all the resources related to the project that are openly available.

Gallardo, O., Appel, A. L., Bruccoleri Ochoa, M., GRIP-APC, T., Milia, M., Montoya, V., van Schalkwyk, F., & Beigel, F. (2025). A comparative analysis of open science, access, APC, and circulation of knowledge. A dataset from a survey of researchers in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa. [Data set]. Global Research Institute of Paris. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16414892

Appel, A. L., Milia, M., Rodriguez Medina, L., GRIP-APC Team, & Beigel, F. (2025). Saberes y prácticas de publicación en acceso abierto: un estudio comparativo sobre Brasil, Argentina y México. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16461364

Albagli, S., Appel, A. L., Pacanaro Trinca, T., Alves, L. de A., & Leite, N. (2024). Uma Análise Comparativa da Ciência Aberta, do Acesso Aberto e da Circulação de Conhecimento na América Latina e na África: Relatório Preliminar Brasil. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10694976

Beigel, F., Gallardo, O., Gomez, M. S., & Prado, F. C. (2025). Publicación en acceso abierto y costos por Article Processing Charges (APC) en Argentina. Revue D’anthropologie Des Connaissances, 19(2). https://doi.org/10.4000/140pa

Terlizzi, M. S., Zukerfeld, M., & Beigel, F. (2025). Open access, “piracy” and Article Processing Charges (APC) in Argentina: an informed policy for the national research funding agency. https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765202520241184

Soto-Herrera, D. A., Beigel, F., & Pallares Delgado, C. O. (2025). Costos de publicación en acceso abierto bajo el modelo APC: Argentina y Colombia. https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.rib.v48n1e357790

Gallardo, O., Milia, M., Appel, A. L., GRIP-APC Team, & van Schalkwyk, F. (2025). When researchers pay to publish: Results from a survey on APCs in four countries. ArXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2410.12144

CECIC is organizing the Workshop for an Inclusive Open Science at the Einstein Center for Digital Future, in collaboration with the Berlin University Alliance and the Berlin Center for Global Engagement. The event will take place on July 14, 2025. The program consists of four panels featuring over 15 speakers from universities in Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Ukraine, South Africa, Argentina, the Netherlands, Brazil, Colombia, and Canada.

Currently, several studies on the balance of the 20 years of the Budapest Open Access Initiative have been highlighting its intentions regarding scientific democratization; However, they have also pointed out various complexities. Indeed, among other things, the interests of the academic publishing sector have been perpetuated, in particular those related to the so-called “high-impact” journals that circulate in the mainstream, continue to struggle to sustain certain models of privatist financing via onerous payments. On the other hand, there is also a growing phenomenon in journals originally supported by open access, which have been demanding increasingly high fees for article processing charges (APCs), thus eclipsing the achievements of the open access movement.

However, it is known that in all regions it has been strongly assuming a boost related to the development of open digital research infrastructure. Across regions, the diverse momentum related to the development of open digital research infrastructure is observed. Europe and Latin America have strong initiatives and/or continental networks in terms of their development, consolidating the focus on knowledge as a public good. In the United States, the federal government was one of the most important drivers of the practice of open science, although the current situation is changing priorities. There is a growing interest on the part of regional and sub-regional bodies in fostering open science efforts along with the transformation towards responsible research assessment.

Based on all this, this workshop seeks to reflect on the paths towards current open science. To this end, 4 panels have been designed under face-to-face and virtual mode, where more than 15 exhibitors from different universities in Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Ukraine, South Africa, Argentina, the Netherlands, Brazil, Colombia and Canada will participate. The program is shared below:

The CECIC Workshop “Convergences between bibliometrics and prosopography: coverage studies and asymmetries in the circulation of knowledge” will be held on November 11 and 12 at the Talampaya Salle of the CCT Mendoza between 9:30 am and 5:30 pm. It aims to discuss the results of the international research projects conducted by CECIC during 2023 and 2024: the international survey of publication practices and APC costs; the PRISA-AUF project on Bibliometrics and Prosopography. CECIC researchers from different provinces (San Juan, Córdoba, Buenos Aires and Misiones) will participate, as well as teams from other countries (Quebec-Canada, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Mexico).

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Baranger

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The scientific meeting will be organized in 4 thematic axes:

1. Inclusiveness and exclusiveness in Open Science
2. Prosopography, bibliometrics and evaluation policies
3. Citation and publishing practices
4. Non-hegemonic publishing circuits and gender asymmetries

Among the speakers who will take part in the Workshop are: Natalia Aguirre-Ligüera (Universidad de la República), Victor Algañaraz (Universidad Nacional de San Juan),  Denis Baranger (Universidad Nacional de Misiones), Fernanda Beigel (CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Cuyo), Pierre Benz (University of Montreal), Lucía Céspedes (Érudit/University of Montreal), Alysson Fernandes Mazoni (Universidade Estadual de Campinas), Exequiel Fontans (Universidad de la República), Osvaldo Gallardo (CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Cuyo), Diego Kozlowski (University of Montreal), Erwin Humberto Krauskopf Poblete (University of the Americas), Vincent Larivière (University of Montreal), Malena Méndez Isla (University of Montreal),  Víctor Montoya (Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero), Carolina Pradier (University of Montreal), Maximiliano Salatino (CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Cuyo), Natsumi Solange Shokida (University of Montreal).

The program and registration for virtual or on-site participation can be made below.

Following the creation of the new Newsletter, Practical Sense, encouraged by the Pierre Bourdieu Foundation in Paris, we got together to discuss the creation of a Bourdieusian research network in Argentina, similar to those existing in other countries (such as the Italian Bourdieu Office, for example), to disseminate ongoing research and collaborate with the aforementioned Newsletter. The meeting was held on October 4th, with researchers from all over the country, and it was proposed to create this network with the name “Space Bourdieu Argentina”, which will have a site on the CECIC web page.

The network already counts with the participation of Alicia Gutiérrez (FFyH, UNC, Córdoba), Juan Dukuen (IPEHCS-CONICET/UNCo-UBA, Bariloche), Ana Teresa Martínez (INDES/UNSE-CONICET, Santiago del Estero), Gustavo Sorá (UNC, Córdoba), Emiliano Gambarotta (CONICET/UNSAM/UNLP, Buenos Aires), Gonzalo Assusa (UNC, Córdoba), Alejandro Blanco (UNQ/CONICET, CABA); Héctor Mansilla (UNC, Córdoba), Victor Montoya (UNTREF, Buenos Aires), Fabiana Bekerman (CONICET/CECIC, UNCuyo, Mendoza), Victor Algañaraz (CONICET-CECIC/IISE-UNSJ, San Juan), Denis Baranger (UNAM, Misiones), Lucas Rubinich (FSoc UBA, CABA) and Fernanda Beigel (CONICET/CECIC-UNCuyo, Mendoza).

Among the upcoming activities, on Friday, October 25, the inaugural conference of the First Conference on Sociology of Literature “Tensions between heteronomy and autonomy”, organized by the Gino Germani Institute and coordinated by Lucas Rubinich, was announced. The lecture will be given by Sergio Miceli (Universidade de Sao Paulo) entitled “Genesis of the Concept of Field in Weber and Bourdieu.” Information and registration at: https://forms.gle/z96T5Wv4DsfBNjmB7

On the other hand, the first presentation of the Practical Sense Newsletter for Latin America will be held on Monday, November 11 at 12:00 am ARG – 16:00 pm Paris, in the framework of the CECIC Workshop “Convergences between bibliometrics and prosopography: studies of coverage, circulation of knowledge and academic inequalities” in virtual format. Johan Heilbron, Matthias Fringant and Jérôme Bourdieu, Jessica Ronconi, Carolina Pulici, and other collaborators of the new initiative will participate. If you would like to register, please fill out the following form.

The report entitled “A study of academic evaluation in Uruguay in reflexive perspective” was requested by the National Council for Innovation, Science and Technology (CONICYT); the results were presented on April 29 through a conference and two workshops held at the Faculty of Information and Communication of the University of the Republic.

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Presentation of the report and workshops. April 29, 2024

The consultancy arose as a need within CONICYT from the materialization of the process of reflection and analysis aimed at a new institutional design of the STI area promoted by the Ministry of Education and Culture. Within this framework, it has been essential to diagnose the different evaluation systems for researchers and identify existing incentives and/or disincentives for developing scientific and technological activities. Thus, the tasks requested by CONICYT were: a) to systematize and analyze the researcher’s career evaluation experiences in Uruguay within the framework of current international debates and b) to prepare recommendations to improve and articulate the existing evaluation systems. Based on a public call for proposals, Dr. Fernanda Beigel was selected to head this consultancy, which was carried out in the context of CONICET’s consultancy framework.

For the development of the study, the reflective perspective of the Sociology of Evaluation was adopted, implementing a methodology that articulated qualitative and quantitative strategies, as well as a wide range of documentary material collected from all national institutions. To analyze the experience of the academic careers existing in Uruguay at different scales (institutional and national), interviews and focus groups were conducted with members of evaluation committees, officials, academic-scientific referents, and researchers. These testimonies were analyzed using Atlas.ti (see Part Two of this report). Likewise, the analysis of the relationship between the evaluation systems of researchers and the profiles of production and circulation of knowledge was carried out through an exploratory study of academic trajectories. Finally, based on the complete information on researchers in the National System of Researchers (SNI) existing in the Uruguayan Curriculum Vitae system (CVUy), a bibliometric analysis combined with prosopography was implemented to detect asymmetries and promotion problems in the SNI. With all the empirical material collected, the strengths and weaknesses of the researcher evaluation systems in Uruguay were identified, and a set of recommendations were proposed and included in the same study. The full report, its executive version, as well as the partial reports can be consulted at the following links:

EXECUTIVE REPORT

FULL REPORT

The scientific event organised by the Global Research Institute of Paris (GRIP) will be held at the Université Paris Cite on 27 and 28 March. It will also be possible to attend in virtual mode via Zoom.

Researchers highly value open access. One of the reasons is that citation rates are higher in open-access publications, which means a greater recognition of research results. But, when researchers decide to publish their results in an open-access journal, they have to evaluate several factors that are not always compatible: its prestige in the field of study, the journal’s impact and its international ranking, the time needed to evaluate and publish the article, and the availability of enough resources to pay the APCs imposed by the journal. Articles become free to readers, and the cost of publishing is transferred to the authors or the author’s institutions. This new marketing model is strongly promoted by journals belonging to the dominant oligopolies, indexed by the dominant databases such as Clarivate Web of Science and Scopus that produce the prestige indicators.

On their part, science funding agencies are under increasing pressure to respond to APCs payment demands with public resources that are always limited. At the same time, agencies, universities and researchers are discussing the relation between publishing practices and hiring and promotion criteria in the scientific career, responsible evaluation on the recognition required to receive research grants, and the new type of communication needed to boost socially relevant research.

This new situation poses a dilemma to researchers: either pay to become a globally accepted researcher or remain a less prestigious and poorly funded local researcher. The dilemma is particularly strong for those based in semi-peripheral (or Global South) countries since this model increases open-access publishing costs, known as article processing charges (APC). Thus, placing a high financial strain on authors whose universities don’t have material resources to sign transformative agreements.

During 2023, the Global Research Institut of Paris hosted the project “A comparative analysis of open science, access and circulation of knowledge in Latin America and Africa”, which consisted of an international survey aimed at nationally rated researchers based in five countries: Brasil, Mexico, Argentina, South Africa and Sénégal. The target populations in these countries share similar structural constraints, although they have essential differences in internationalization and the incidence of research assessment incentives in publishing practices. The survey intended to explore perceptions, publishing experiences in open access, position-takings towards APC costs and the challenges these entail. It was performed during August-December 2023 and this seminar is intended to discuss the results.

The scientific meeting, organised by the CECIC, will take place on 30 and 31 October and 1 November, with the participation of specialists from all over the country and abroad. The activities will take place at the CICUNC (Rectorate) and Classroom 1 of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences (FCPyS) of the UNCuyo.

The Workshop will consist of three days of presentations, debates and reflections. On the first day, the following themes will be addressed: Global information sources and transformations of the mainstream circuit, together with Comparative trajectories of circulation: encounters between prosopography and bibliometrics. On the second day of the scientific event, the following thematic lines will also take place: Spaces of circulation and evaluative cultures, as well as Sources of information, Humanities and Social Sciences. The third day, meanwhile, will be the setting for presentations and reflections on national scientific journal systems, interoperability, repositories and journal platforms. The scientific event has confirmed the participation of various national and international specialists who will present advances and findings of their work related to the circulation of scientific knowledge and the instrumentalisation of sources from different geographical anchors.

On 30 October, the researchers who will participate in the roundtable linked to global sources of information are Ismael Ràfols (Leiden University), Vincent Lariviére (Université du Montreal), Fernanda Beigel (CONICET, CECIC-UNCUYO), Emanuel Kulczycki (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań), and Gabriel Vélez Cuartas (University of Antioquia). Then, in the session devoted to the study of comparative trajectories of circulation, Luciano Digiampietri (Universidade de São Paulo), Osvaldo Gallardo (CONICET, CECIC-UNCUYO), Victor Montoya (UNTreF), Antonela Isoglio (UNC) and Soledad Gomez (CONICET, CECIC-UNCUYO) will present their contributions. On the second day proposed for 31 October, the round table corresponding to the Spaces of circulation and evaluative cultures will be made up of studies by Maximiliano Salatino (CONICET, CECIC-UNCUYO), Victor Algañaraz (CONICET, CECIC-UNSJ), Flavia Prado (CONICET, CECIC-UNSJ), Gonzalo Castillo (CONICET, CECIC-UNSJ), Ana María Almeida (Universidade Estadual de Campinas), Pía Rossomando (CONICET, CECIC-UNSJ), Soledad Gomez (CONICET, CECIC-UNCUYO), Fabio Erreguerena (CECIC-UNCUYO) and Fabricio Neves (Universidade de Brasilia). Also participating in the session focused on Sources of information in the humanities and social sciences will be Denis Baranger (UNMisiones), Juan Piovani (UNLP), Amurabi Oliveira (Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina), Mayra Juruá Gomes De Oliveira (CIRST-UQAM, Universidade Estadual de Campinas), together with Lucía Céspedes (CONICET, UNC).

On 1 November, as part of the special programme of the “UNESCO-Interoperable Platform for Scientific Journals” project, the round table dedicated to National Systems of Scientific Journals will be held with the participation of Carolina Monti (CONICET, UNLP), Carolina de Volder (Centro Argentino de Información Científica y Tecnológica CONICET), Fernanda Beigel (CONICET, CECIC-UNCUYO), Emilio Di Domenico (UNC), Ramiro Zo (UNCUYO) and Maximiliano Salatino (CONICET, CECIC-UNCUYO). In the second activity of the day, focused on Interoperability studies, repositories and journal platforms, Gonzalo Villareal (UNLP), Enzo Rucci (UNLP and Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la provincia de Buenos Aires), Carlos Authier (Centro Argentino de Información Científica y Tecnológica CONICET), Carina Gordillo (Centro Argentino de Información Científica y Tecnológica CONICET), Paola Azrilevich (MINCyT) and Alberto Apollaro (MINCyT) will present their papers. The programme is available here.