ACM International Conference Proceedings Series (ICPS) Begins Transition to Full Open Access

ACM is at an important point in its journey toward Open Access (OA) publication. In January 2024, ACM began transitioning ICPS conferences to a 100% Open Access model. During the year, an increasing number of ICPS conferences adopted the new OA model, while many remained in an optional OA model. As of January 1, 2025, all ICPS conferences publishing their conference proceedings with ACM will be required to transition to 100% Open Access, without exception. This transition will have implications for ICPS conference authors.

Because ACM is breaking new ground in mandating open access publication for conference proceedings, the requirement for some authors to pay an article processing charge (APC) can come as an unexpected and unwelcome complication. Those who are not affiliated with ACM Open institutions may need to take additional steps with their co-authors, institutions, or funders to secure the necessary financial support. It is therefore of critical importance to provide early guidance to authors on what to expect from the new model, and we continue to work with conference organizers to optimize and clarify this messaging.

Although we have made good progress in transitioning institutions to ACM Open (more than 1,600 institutions have so far joined the program), there are still significant gaps in countries such as India and China that host many ICPS conferences. This can create real challenges for authors who do not have funding to support APC payments. We are addressing this challenge in several different ways:

• The ACM institutional sales team continues to add new institutions to the ACM program. A recent addition is the Couperin consortium in France, joining other notable members of the program such as Carnegie Mellon University, MIT, Tsinghua University, and the University of Oxford.
• For those ICPS authors who are still required to pay an APC, we are exploring ways to streamline the payment process and, where possible, to reduce the financial burden on individual authors.
• We have an established policy of granting APC waivers to those in real financial need, while maintaining a prudent approach to the sustainability of the OA model.

ACM’s initiative to transition to fully open access publication came from the community, and ongoing community support is essential as we continue to expand the global reach of the ACM Open program. Here are some simple steps you can take to help us:

• Do you know if your institution is a member of ACM Open? If not, you can view the list of participating institutions here.
• If your institution has not yet signed up for the program, please consider writing to your department head and your librarian to urge them to join. Please write to [email protected] if you would like us to provide you with a standard letter or other supporting information to help you with this.

Full details of the new ICPS model, including a breakdown of applicable APCs, may be found here . Please feel free to write to [email protected] for further information or questions about ICPS.