PRIF supports open access to scientific research results on the Inter­net and has adopted an Open Access Policy for this purpose.

PRIF's own publications (with the ex­ception of the PRIF studies) are published open access: The publi­cations are ac­ces­sible via the PRIF website, the Social Science Open Access Repository (SSOAR) of the GESIS Leibniz Institute for Social Sciences and the Open Access Portal of the Leibniz Asso­ciation LeibnizOpen.

PRIF has set up an Open Access Publi­cation Fund with the help of which out­standing publi­cations by PRIF staff in rele­vant journals can be made acces­sible im­mediately.

The PRIF Library supports and advises re­searchers on Open Access publi­cations. Open Access FAQs can be ac­cessed via Intra­net. Through con­tracts with some publishers, PRIF employees enjoy pre­feren­tial con­ditions for Open Access acti­vation of articles. In addition, the library offers a second publi­cation service in order to make publi­cations that were origi­nally published in licen­sed journals freely acces­sible after the legal blocking periods have expired ("green road").

Not only scientific texts, but also research data can and should (if legally and ethically possible) be made freely acces­sible in the spirit of open science. PRIF has adopted a guide­line for the hand­ling of research data; the library is the desi­gnated point of con­tact for research data manage­ment.

According to its constitu­tion, the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) con­tributes to "intro­duce the findings of peace and conflict research to the public and in particular seeks to bring them into effect in political edu­cation". In line with this man­date, HSFK supports the de­mand for free access to scientific re­search re­sults on the Inter­net.

Open Access de­scribes the goal of making research know­ledge available in digital form via the Inter­net at any time and with­out financial, technical or legal barriers. This maximizes the visi­bility of research results and their public use. As a member of the Leibniz Association, PRIF follows the guide­lines on Open Access by the Leibniz Association and the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in Sciences and Humanities.

According to its constitution the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) seeks to introduce the “findings of peace and conflict research to the public and in particular seeks to bring them into effect in political education”. Following this mission, PRIF supports the open access of scientific research results online. 

The objective of open access is to digitally provide access to research knowledge at any given time online without financial, technical and legal barriers. Thereby, increasing the visibility and public utilization of research results. As a member of the Leibniz Association, PRIF adheres to the “Guidelines on Open Access in the Leibniz Association” and the “Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities”. 

PRIF encourages and supports its academic staff with the publication of research results according to the open access principle:

• The publication of research results can ensue directly as an open access initial release (“the golden road”) or as a secondary release (“the green road”).
• PRIF's publications formats [with the exception of HSFK-Studien] are freely accessible through the PRIF website, the Social Science Open Access Repository (SSOAR) of GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences as well as the Open Access Portal of the Leibniz Association LeibnizOpen. The publications are placed under a corresponding free user's license (Creative Commons-License).
• For scientific works, that are not directly published in an Open Access format, PRIF advises its staff to verify and complement the publishing contract as well as to publish a subsequent secondary release within an institutional repository as SSOAR.
• Within the scope of its abilities PRIF provides its academic staff with the financial infrastructure for open access publications.
• Scientific knowledge is often based on the analysis of scientific data. In order to verify and reproduce their own research results PRIF supports its scientist by ensuring the availability of their research data on respective digital platforms. 

PRIF's Open Access Policy is decided by the Executive Board as well as the Research Council and is evaluated and revised regularly.

PRIF's Open Access Policy (pdf, in German)