Supporting researchers in low-and middle-income countries
Our social mission is to disseminate research and evidence that makes an impact in the field and reaches the people where it can truly make a difference. This is the reason why supporting research and researchers in low-and middle-income countries and the Global South is a vital part of what we do.
We work closely with authors and organisations from these regions to enable their research to be published, discovered and read by researchers, practitioners and policy makers.
As a not-for-profit publisher with a focus on publishing for the global social challenges, we are committed to providing research institutions in low-and middle-income countries with fair and sustainable access to our content. We are proud to work with the following organisations to do that and we are always open to suggestions on how we can further support local research initiatives.
Research4Life
Research4Life is the collective name for five programmes – Hinari, AGORA, OARE, ARDI and GOALI – that provide low-and middle-income countries with free or low-cost access to academic and professional peer-reviewed content online.
We partner with Research4Life to provide access to our Bristol University Press and Policy Press journals and eBooks. Find out more here. A list of 120 eligible countries is available on the Research4Life website and institutions are accessed based on the following five factors:
Total GNI (World Bank figures)
GNI per capita (World Bank figures)
United Nations Least Developed Country (LDC) List
Human Development Index (HDI)
Healthy life Expectancy (HALE) – World Health Organization Figures
Not-for-profit institutions in eligible countries can register for free or low-cost access to Bristol University Press and Policy Press journals. For further information, including how to access the journals, please visit the Research4Life website.
We submit our research content to the Research4Life programme via Bristol University Press Digital.
Our definition of eligible countries and institutions is guided by the criteria outlined by Research4Life.
Open Access
Our commitment to Open Access is also a crucial part of our publishing programme and mission. OA fosters greater dialogue across disciplinary and geographical boundaries and reduces inequalities in access to knowledge due to lack of institutional funding. Our Journals Director and Head of our OA programme, Julia Mortimer, outlines our policy in this article.
We provide a variety of OA models for academics from low-and middle-income countries for both books and journals. See full details here.
We also offer discounts on Article Processing Charges to authors who are applying from countries in low, medium and high categories in UN HDI. Full details here.
Access to our journal and eBook OA content
We regularly publish free OA journal articles and they are available directly from our website.
All our OA book content is available through the OAPEN Library in ePDF format and the full range of OA collection is always kept up to date here.
Co-publishing and translation
At the start of your publishing journey during the initial proposal stage, we will discuss the local co-publishing and translation options. We are very flexible about supporting local-language initiatives and where we can, we give guidance on how authors can identify local publishers or translation opportunities.
Sales and distribution of print books
For sales and distribution of our print books, we work with local sales agents, bookshops and independent retailers. Our International distributors page lists who to contact. If you have any questions about ordering our books or our discount policies, then please feel free to contact our sales team directly.
Additional resources
There is a wealth of resources for researchers and recommend some of the websites below:
AuthorAID - a networking site which helps researchers from the Global South get published.
Think. Check. Submit - a resource which helps researchers identify trusted journals.
INASP - development organisations promoting research and knowledge in addressing global challenges.
Mawazo Institute – research institute which supports the next generation of thought leaders and scholars in Africa.
The Conversation Africa - independent news and analysis website produced by journalists and academics.
ITOCA - enhances ICT skills for African libraries, information specialists, scientists, researchers and students in sub-Saharan Africa.