Funding for a scientific publication in Kazakhstan comes from two sources – a university’s own funds or a state grant. Each has its own logic for allocating expenses, which needs to be worked out in advance.
What funding sources are available for a scientific publication?
A scholar in Kazakhstan can rely on two main channels of publication funding. The first is a university’s own funds, distributed through internal regulations on incentivising publication activity.
The second is state grant funding, administered by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (MSHE RK). Both sources assume that expenses are known in advance rather than arranged after the fact.
A university’s own funds for covering publication costs
Many universities in Kazakhstan reimburse or reward publications in Scopus and Web of Science journals from extra-budgetary funds. The terms are set out in the university’s internal regulations and can differ considerably between institutions.
At some universities, for example, applications for reimbursement are accepted within each calendar half-year – though the exact procedure and timing should be checked against the specific university’s internal regulations, as terms vary considerably.
How is the publication budget accounted for in a Science Committee grant?
State grant funding for scientific and (or) scientific-technical projects is provided on a non-repayable basis, based on a cost estimate approved at the application stage. Publication costs fall under the “scientific and organisational support” budget line, which also covers patenting and the purchase of analytical materials.
The project’s principal investigator may reallocate funds between expense lines within the total amount approved for the calendar year, although several lines – including scientific and organisational support – require price quotations or price lists to be submitted at the application stage. This means that if publication costs are not justified in advance, adjusting the budget during the project becomes more difficult.
What makes up the budget for a scientific publication
When planning expenses, it helps to account in advance for every item that may go into the final sum. The main ones include:
- APC payment for publication in an open-access journal
- academic translation and text editing
- plagiarism and similarity checking
- DOI registration and database indexing
- statistical data processing, where required by the journal
- an article audit before submission to the journal
The cost of each of these services depends on the journal, the language of publication and the scope of the work, so it is best to finalise the estimate after choosing a specific journal rather than before.
How does the CQASE list affect the publication budget?
For grant reporting and for a thesis defence, what matters is not only the journal’s quartile but also its compliance with the requirements for scientific journals recommended by the Committee for Quality Assurance in Science and Higher Education (CQASE) of the MSHE RK. Publishing in a journal that is later not recognised puts at risk not only the defence itself but also the intended use of the allocated funds.
It is therefore worth checking the journal against the current CQASE list and the Scopus or Web of Science databases before paying for publication, not afterwards.
Rules for planning a scientific publication budget in advance
To avoid a shortfall of funds at the final stage, it helps to follow a few rules when planning the budget:
- Estimate the full cost of publication, including translation, editing and the publication fee itself.
- Clarify which costs are covered by the university and which by the grant, and the order in which applications are submitted.
- Check the deadlines for reimbursement applications or grant competitions against the publication schedule.
- Set aside a reserve in the budget for an additional round of revisions or expedited peer review.
- Keep all supporting documents – invoices, receipts and certificates – for later reporting.
Planning the budget in advance – whether it involves university funds or a grant – reduces the risk of a publication being held up by a lack of funds at the final stage. The sooner a scholar matches the funder’s requirements against the actual cost of publication, the fewer adjustments will be needed along the way.
Need help with the publication of a scientific article? The specialists at Scientific Publications will check the journal’s compliance with CQASE, Scopus or Web of Science requirements and support you at every stage of submission and peer review. To get a free consultation, fill in the form below, and our manager will contact you shortly. Onwards to new scientific achievements!
