The National Research and Development Agency (ANID) announced the Scientific Journal Publication Fund 2025 results, a strategic instrument designed to bolster the editorial management, visibility, and consolidation of national academic journals. The fund supports initiatives to optimize editorial workflows, professionalize teams, implement publishing technologies, and scale the scholarly impact of national scientific publications.
Within this framework, the University secured $30,000,000 CLP in research funding over a two-year implementation period, enabling the institution to enhance its digital editorial platforms and align its journals with international quality standards and indexing requirements.
In this regard, the Director of Scientific and Technological Research and project lead, Dr. Maritza Páez, noted that "this award validates our efforts to professionalize scientific publishing and transition toward an Open Science ecosystem. It strengthens institutional governance, boosts international journal visibility, and ensures transparent, inclusive, and sustainable processes. Usach is developing a high-standard model following global publishing best practices."
The project follows three strategic axes designed to comprehensively improve Usach's editorial workflows. The first is editorial interoperability, ensuring that article management systems "communicate" seamlessly to facilitate the circulation, organization, and digital preservation of scientific metadata and content.
The second pillar focuses on inclusive regulations and ethical AI integration, incorporating gender-perspective policies and tools that support editorial tasks without replacing human expertise, maintaining strict ethics and transparency criteria. Finally, the third pillar targets capacity building, offering training programs and resources that empower publishers, editors, and authors with modern tools and updated expertise.
Carla Rivera, editorial advisor and operational lead, stated: "We are building an ecosystem where technology, gender equity, and ethics converge to enhance journal quality. This fund drives a qualitative leap in interoperability, data linking, and editorial training. We value collaborating with editorial committees, whose expertise is vital for a collaborative, ethical Open Access model."
Finally, the project establishes a 2025–2028 multi-year plan to ensure the continuity and sustainability of these advancements. This instrument secures long-term improvements and reinforces Usach's position as a leading university committed to high-impact scientific production.
Additionally, an institutional publishers' summit will be held—a key opportunity to share results, consolidate a scholarly publishing community, and address the contemporary challenges facing academic publishing and research dissemination today.