Dagstuhl LIPIcs - FAQ for Authors
Starting with ESEM 2026, the conference proceedings will be published through the Dagstuhl LIPIcs series — a well-established open-access venue operated by the Leibniz Center for Informatics (Schloss Dagstuhl). This move reflects ESEM’s long-term commitment to open, transparent, and sustainable scientific communication.
Why is ESEM no longer publishing with ACM or IEEE?
ESEM has introduced its open science policy already in 2018 and is among the first software engineering conferences that has actively promoted and supported open science. ESEM therefore welcomes the ACM Open initiative rendering all papers published under the ACM open access. At the ESEM 2025 townhall meeting in Hawaii, however, the community expressed a growing frustration with ACM and IEEE. Among the reasons discussed were also that the Article Process Charges by ACM applied for those authors without strong institutional contracts. The community has therefore expressed the desire for a change of publisher as long as (1) we can ensure that aspects deemed relevant in the respective academic systems are preserved (e.g. CORE ranking, Scopus, COPE) and while (2) ensuring that the articles remain open access at an affordable level for all authors in the community regardless of their institutional background. In response to the town hall meeting, the steering committee has therefore formed a task force, analysed, and discussed different alternative publishers under the given constraints. After careful consideration, Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (short: LIPIcs) was chosen and voted for by the members of the steering committee.
Beginning with the edition of 2026, ESEM is therefore transitioning from IEEE/ACM to LIPIcs to align further its global open science principles and ensure free and unrestricted access to all conference papers, regardless of the authors’ affiliation. LIPIcs offers a non-profit, community-centered alternative that guarantees openness, preserves author rights, and maintains high editorial standards through peer review and an international editorial board without effects on aspects like CORE.
It is important for us to note and make explicit that the move is done solely following the desires and needs of its community and that the steering committee maintains a good relationship with IEEE and ACM.
What exactly is LIPIcs?
LIPIcs - the Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics - is a peer-reviewed open-access proceedings series covering all fields of informatics. It is published by Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz Center for Informatics, a non-profit research organization in Germany. LIPIcs aims to provide high-quality, open-access publication at low cost, supported by an internationally recognized editorial board. More details: https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/series/LIPIcs
How does LIPIcs handle indexing and discoverability?
Each LIPIcs paper receives a DOI, URN, and ISBN, and is indexed in DBLP, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. All volumes are digitally archived through the German National Library (Deutsche Nationalbibliothek), ensuring long-term preservation and access.
What about copyright and licensing?
Authors retain their copyright under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. This allows authors to freely share and reuse their work with proper attribution. Metadata is released under a CC0 Public Domain Dedication, ensuring openness and interoperability.
Are there publication fees for authors?
Rather than charging an APC to individual authors in dependency to whether the institution has established contracts with ACM or not, LIPIcs charges a volume-based processing fee to the conference organisation that is, also thanks to the support by the non-profit organisations behind LIPIcs, well below the costs of other publishers. As these costs form then part of the general costs for the organisation of the entire Empirical Software Engineering International Week, it allows the organisers to include them in their general budget plans and cover them also by other means (e.g. sponsorships). In any case, there will be no APCs anymore charged to individual authors.
How is publication ethics handled?
Dagstuhl Publishing follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines and adheres to the standards of the Leibniz Association and the German Research Foundation (DFG) for good scientific practice. Any allegations of misconduct are investigated according to COPE’s best-practice guidance.
Will ESEM papers still be considered peer-reviewed conference papers?
Yes, of course. While the publisher changes, nothing else does and the review process remains unaffected. ESEM submissions will undergo the same rigorous review and selection process by its international Program Committee. Publishing in LIPIcs does not alter the nature or quality of the conference’s review or selection process and as a consequence, it will also not alter associated rankings.
How might this affect ESEM’s reputation or rankings?
International rankings, such as the ICORE ranking, are not influenced by the publisher, but by other metrics, such as scientific quality, impact, or community leadership. The change of publisher has been made in response to the strong desire expressed by the community and does not influence the above criteria. That is, ESEM will continue to promote strong submissions, top researchers, and a rigorous review process, and we expect its reputation and influence to remain the same while paving the road for an increased openness and accessibility.
What are the advantages for authors?
This model enhances both accessibility and sustainability, while ensuring that the community — not a commercial publisher — controls its research output. Immediate, global open access — no paywalls or embargoes Authors retain full rights to their work Professional metadata and archiving (DOIs, URNs, ORCIDs) Long-term preservation in the German National Library Transparent, ethical, and non-profit publication model
Where can I learn more or find author guidelines?
Comprehensive author information and submission templates are available on the ESEM 2026 website and through the LIPIcs author resources: https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/series/LIPIcs For further questions, please contact the ESEM 2026 organizing team via the conference website.