The period for expression of interest and application for Scientific Journal Hosting Service (SARC), addressed to publishers of scientific journals, with a deadline of February 13, 2026.
THE SARC It is part of the national initiative. PUB IN, developed by University of Minho and by Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), through its digital services unit FCCN, with the aim of meeting the current needs of scientific publishing in Portugal.
This service provides a set of Infrastructures and applications to support the management and operation of scientific journals., ensuring the management and maintenance of equipment and underlying software, as well as platforms associated with the editorial lifecycle and content delivery. All tasks related to the editorial and design components of the magazines are excluded from the scope of SARC.
This application concerns the modality SARC Light, which includes initial support for Parameterization of management and operation applications for scientific journals. and access to support service (helpdesk)This option does not include editorial support or consulting services, focusing exclusively on... making available software as a service.
How to express interest
Publishing entities interested in hosting their scientific journals on SARC should communicate this intention via email. info@pubin.pt, with the following information:
- Name of the publishing institution or entity;
- Journal description (1 to 2 pages), including, among other elements: title, periodicity, publishing entity, scientific area, ISSN (and ISSN). online(if applicable), URL, open access policy, policy of copyright, editorial body and policy, published issues and number of articles published in the last three years;
- Characterization of the publishing entity, indicating its nature, organizational structure, and published journals;
- Identification and contact details of those responsible;
- A signed declaration of commitment, defining the responsibilities of the managing entity.
Eligibility and selection criteria
The application will be considered eligible if it meets the following criteria:
- dealing with a scientific journal, with a majority of publications consisting of scientific articles;
- publication by a Portuguese entity or entity based in Portugal;
- making the digital version available in open access.
The selection process values, among other aspects:
- the existence of peer review;
- one public and diverse editorial board;
- the longevity of the publication and adherence to the announced periodicity;
- The number of articles published in the last three years.
- the adoption of best practices aligned with Open Science, such as continuous publication, open peer review, or publication in JATS-XML format.
Consideration will also be given to the need to ensure diversity of scientific fields and publishing entitiesHowever, some journals may not be selected even if they meet the defined criteria.
Good practices to be adopted by selected journals
Accepted journals should adopt practices and innovations aligned with the principles of Open Sciencenamely:
- use of author identifiers (mandatory);
- adoption of continuous publication (mandatory);
- Open peer review (recommended);
- publication of full texts in format JATS-XML (recommended);
- Making research data available in appropriate repositories (recommended).
The selection of journals to be included in the service will result from the analysis of the expressions of interest. The results will be communicated to all applicant entities.
The selected journals will be integrated into INDEXAR – Directory of Digital Knowledge Resources and in the RCAAP PortalEntities that are not selected will be included in a pool of candidates for future expressions of interest.
All additional information or clarifications are available at pubin.pt.
