Ca’ Foscari Open Monograph Fund

Introduction and Purpose

Edizioni Ca’ Foscari – Venice University Press, the open access publishing house of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, promotes the Ca’ Foscari Open Monograph Fund, an initiative established as an award for the most innovative monographic publication, within the framework of the Research Support Fund of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.

The award consists of the allocation of a contribution for open access publication, granted on the basis of a ranking until the available resources are exhausted.

The call aims to encourage the adoption of open access as a qualified publishing model for high-level scholarly works, characterized by originality, methodological rigor, and significant disciplinary impact.

In particular, the initiative is addressed to works which, due to the nature of their content and their relevance to the scientific community, may significantly benefit from the free and wide circulation of knowledge enabled by digital dissemination and the open access ecosystem.

Within this perspective, Edizioni Ca’ Foscari acts as an active promoter of open access as a high-level publishing option, capable of enhancing innovative scholarly works and amplifying their impact through accessibility, citability, and reusability of content.

Eligible Publications

The call is addressed to:

  • • original scholarly monographs;
  • • critical editions and editions of sources.

The works must demonstrate clear scholarly value, a solid methodological framework, and a recognizable and lasting contribution to the advancement of knowledge within their respective disciplinary fields.

Eligible Applicants

The call is open to scholars working at universities, research institutes, or national and international scientific institutions officially recognized within their respective national systems.

Proposals may be submitted directly by authors in response to this call.

Submission Procedures

Proposals must be submitted by completing the form available at the following link: https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/en/edizioni4/static-page/OpenMonographFund/submission-form

The form must be fully completed and submitted according to the instructions provided therein, attaching the manuscript of the work. The following materials must be included with the application:

  • • complete manuscript of the work, or a substantially complete version close to the final draft, sufficient to allow scientific and financial evaluation of the proposal;
  • • keywords and indication of the relevant disciplinary fields, according to the ERC classification;
  • • extended abstract of the work;
  • • statement of motivation, indicating the reasons why the work is considered consistent with the evaluation criteria set out in this call.
Selection Procedure and Peer Review
Structure of the Procedure

The selection procedure is structured in two successive stages:

  1. Pre-selection
  2. International peer review
Stage One – Pre-selection
  • All proposals submitted within the deadline are subject to a pre-selection phase conducted by the Editorial Board of Edizioni Ca’ Foscari, appointed by Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
  • At this stage, proposals are evaluated exclusively on the basis of the evaluation criteria set out in this call.
  • The Editorial Board assigns each proposal an overall score, resulting from the assessment of the individual criteria.
  • At the end of the first stage, the Editorial Board identifies the proposals that, having reached the minimum required score, are admitted to the subsequent stage of international peer review.
Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

  • Overall scholarly value of the work
  • Originality and innovative character of the research
  • Potential impact on the national and international scholarly debate
  • Consistency with the catalogue and editorial guidelines of Edizioni Ca’ Foscari
  • The work’s capacity to make available new materials, data, sources, or perspectives
Scoring Scale (0–10)
  • 0 = insufficient / not assessable
  • 1–2 = weak
  • 3–4 = adequate
  • 5–6 = good
  • 7–8 = very good
  • 9–10 = excellent / high quality
Overall Scholarly Value of the Work (0–10)
  • Theoretical and methodological soundness
  • Scientific rigor of the overall structure
  • Relevance of the work within its field of study

Score: ___ /10

Originality and Innovative Character of the Research (0–10)
  • Degree of originality of the topic, approach, or sources
  • Ability to propose new or underexplored perspectives
  • Innovative contribution with respect to the state of the art

Score: ___ /10

Potential Impact on the Scholarly Debate (0–10)
  • The work’s capacity to influence disciplinary debate
  • Interest for a broad and qualified scholarly community
  • Potential for dissemination and citation at national and international level

Score: ___ /10

Scholarly Accessibility and Enabling Value for Research (0–10)
  • The work’s capacity to make available materials, data, sources, or corpora
  • Usefulness of the work as a reference for future research
  • Contribution to the development and strengthening of open knowledge infrastructures

Score: ___ /10

Editorial Consistency and Project Feasibility (0–10)
  • Consistency with the editorial and disciplinary guidelines of Edizioni Ca’ Foscari
  • Clarity and maturity of the editorial project
  • Feasibility of the publication process within the expected timeframe

Score: ___ /10

The maximum total score is 50 points. Only proposals obtaining an overall score equal to or higher than 40/50 in the pre-selection phase are admitted to the subsequent stage of international peer review.

Stage Two – International Peer Review
  • Proposals admitted to the second stage are subject to international peer review, entrusted to two expert referees in the relevant field.
  • The referees are selected by the Editorial Board from among nationally and internationally recognized scholars.
  • The referees assign a score according to the indicated criteria and provide a written evaluation.
Referees’ Evaluation Criteria
  • Scientific relevance of the proposal
  • Relevance to the disciplinary field
  • Originality and innovative character of the research
  • Adequacy and soundness of the research methodology
  • Completeness and accuracy of bibliographic references
  • Consistency and quality of the argumentation
  • Quality of the written presentation
Scoring Scale (1–5)
  • 1 = insufficient
  • 2 = poor
  • 3 = adequate
  • 4 = good
  • 5 = excellent

Referees have a total of 35 points available. In the event of a discrepancy of ≥ 7 points between the two referees, a third evaluation is requested and the score furthest from the median of the three scores is excluded.

Final Ranking and Allocation of the Grant
  • The final ranking is determined by the sum of the pre-selection score (max 50) and the peer review score (max 35).
  • In the event of a tie, priority is given to the proposal with the higher peer review score.
  • The final ranking is approved by the Editorial Board and formalized by Rector’s Decree.
Financial Resources and Their Use

The Ca’ Foscari Open Monograph Fund provides up to a maximum of €10,000 to cover in whole or in part the editorial costs necessary for the publication of the selected work, including, by way of example and not exhaustively:

  • • editorial and drafting activities;
  • • digital open access production;
  • • metadata management and international dissemination.

The contribution is not tied to a fixed amount per work.

Depending on the proposals received and the outcomes of the evaluation, the Editorial Board may:

  • • award the grant to the proposal ranked first in the final ranking, funding its publication in whole or in part based on the estimated editorial costs; • use any remaining portion of the overall fund to support the publication of other proposals successfully ranked.
  • • distribute the total fund among two or more projects, within the maximum limit of €10,000.

In any case, the allocation of contributions will occur until the total available fund is exhausted.

Editorial Aspects and Open Access

Selected works will be published in open access under a CC BY license, in accordance with the editorial policies of Edizioni Ca’ Foscari.

The Editorial Board may consider producing a print edition. The print run and the modalities of any potential print publication will be determined by the publisher, based on the characteristics of the proposal and its own editorial policies.

Deadline and Publication Timeline

The call is open until 30 September 2026.

Selected works will enter the publication process according to the normal editorial workflow of Edizioni Ca’ Foscari and will be published within the calendar year following the closing of the call.

Institutional note: Edizioni Ca’ Foscari – Venice University Press is the open access publishing house of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. Editorial activities are operationally managed by Fondazione Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia.