Publisher Registration & Compliance Tracker
Track all official registrations, indexing applications, and compliance requirements needed to operate AfriSci Nexus as a credible international publisher.
Legal Entity Registration
ASIC (Australia) or African Company Registry
Everything else depends on this. Consider also registering in Kenya or South Africa for African credibility.
Cost
~$576 AUD (ASIC Pty Ltd)
Target Date
1 June 2026
Documents Needed
ABN, registered address, company constitution
ISSN Registration
ISSN International Centre (via national centre)
Apply per journal. Also apply for e-ISSN (online version). Required by CrossRef and DOAJ.
Cost
Free
Target Date
15 June 2026
Documents Needed
Journal title, publisher name & address, website URL, first issue
CrossRef Membership & DOI Registration
CrossRef
DOIs make articles permanently citable. Required before applying to Scopus or WoS.
Cost
$275 USD/yr membership + $1/DOI
Target Date
1 July 2026
Documents Needed
Legal entity details, ISSN per journal, payment method
COPE Membership
Committee on Publication Ethics
Required for DOAJ and strongly preferred by Scopus. Provides framework for handling misconduct.
Cost
£105 GBP/yr
Target Date
1 July 2026
Documents Needed
Publisher details, ethics policy URL, peer review policy
DOAJ Application
Directory of Open Access Journals
Takes 3–6 months to process. Need at least 10 published articles. DOAJ listing is the gold-standard OA legitimacy badge.
Cost
Free (voluntary donation encouraged)
Target Date
1 Oct 2026
Documents Needed
ISSN, COPE membership, 10+ published OA articles, ethics policy, author copyright policy
AJOL Listing
African Journals OnLine
World's largest platform for African-published research. Directly reaches the African academic community.
Cost
Free
Target Date
1 Aug 2026
Documents Needed
Journal details, ISSN, scope, editorial board, published articles
Google Scholar Indexing
Google Scholar (Automated)
Already partially implemented via ScholarMetaTags component. Confirm all article pages have correct citation meta tags.
Cost
Free
Target Date
Ongoing
Documents Needed
Scholar meta tags on article pages, DOIs, structured HTML
ORCID Integration
ORCID
Already implemented in submission system. Consider adding ORCID OAuth for author verification.
Cost
Free (API access free)
Target Date
Ongoing
Documents Needed
ORCID fields in author submission form
OpenAIRE Registration
OpenAIRE
Exposes journals to EU Horizon-funded researchers. Requires OAI-PMH endpoint to be live.
Cost
Free
Target Date
1 Jan 2027
Documents Needed
OAI-PMH metadata endpoint, DOAJ listing (preferred)
Scopus Application
Elsevier / Scopus CSAB
Takes 12–18 months. Major institutional KPI — universities measure research output by Scopus records. Directly boosts institutional partnership value.
Cost
Free to apply
Target Date
1 June 2027
Documents Needed
3+ years publishing history, COPE membership, DOAJ listing, peer review policy, ISSN, CrossRef DOIs
Web of Science Application
Clarivate
Highest prestige. Impact Factor calculated from WoS. Long-term goal — requires 2–3 years after Scopus.
Cost
Free to apply
Target Date
1 Jan 2028
Documents Needed
Sustained publishing record, citation evidence, Scopus indexing (helpful), COPE, ISSN
WHO African Index Medicus
WHO AFRO
Critical for health, medicine and public health journals. Used by health ministries across Africa.
Cost
Free
Target Date
1 Mar 2027
Documents Needed
Health/biomedical journal details, ISSN, peer review policy
Sherpa Romeo Listing
Sherpa Romeo (Jisc)
Authors check Sherpa Romeo before every submission. Listing makes AfriSci Nexus policies visible globally.
Cost
Free
Target Date
1 Sept 2026
Documents Needed
Journal OA & self-archiving policy, ISSN
ROR Affiliation Registration
Research Organization Registry
Ensures correct institutional affiliation metadata in CrossRef, Scopus & OpenAIRE. Important for institutional partner reporting.
Cost
Free
Target Date
1 Oct 2026
Documents Needed
Organization details, website, legal entity proof