diff --git a/core/management/commands/load_initial_data.py b/core/management/commands/load_initial_data.py
index 1e4e1afd..62e24097 100644
--- a/core/management/commands/load_initial_data.py
+++ b/core/management/commands/load_initial_data.py
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ def create_elu_institutions():
             data = json.load(handler)
             for partner in data:
                 _current = {k: v for k, v in partner.items()}
-                _current.update({'is_published': True})
+                _current.update({'_is_published': True})
                 if 'external_id' in _current:
                     _current['elu_accession'] = _current['external_id']
                     _current.pop('external_id')
diff --git a/core/migrations/0034_auto_20230515_1353.py b/core/migrations/0034_auto_20230515_1353.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f079b5ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/migrations/0034_auto_20230515_1353.py
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# Generated by Django 3.2.19 on 2023-05-15 11:53
+
+import core.models.utils
+from django.db import migrations
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ('core', '0033_auto_20230515_1147'),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.RenameField(
+            model_name='cohort',
+            old_name='is_published',
+            new_name='_is_published',
+        ),
+        migrations.RenameField(
+            model_name='partner',
+            old_name='is_published',
+            new_name='_is_published',
+        ),
+        migrations.RemoveField(
+            model_name='dataset',
+            name='is_published',
+        ),
+        migrations.RemoveField(
+            model_name='project',
+            name='is_published',
+        ),
+    ]
diff --git a/core/models/access.py b/core/models/access.py
index 4258c3c4..8611c763 100644
--- a/core/models/access.py
+++ b/core/models/access.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 from django.core.exceptions import ValidationError
 from django.db import models
-from django.db.models import Q, ObjectDoesNotExist
+from django.db.models import Q, ObjectDoesNotExist, Count
 
 from enumchoicefield import EnumChoiceField, ChoiceEnum
 
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
 from auditlog.models import AuditlogHistoryField
 
 
-
 class StatusChoices(ChoiceEnum):
     precreated = "Pre-created"
     active = "Active"
@@ -145,7 +144,7 @@ def __str__(self):
             else:
                 return f"Access ({self.status}) to dataset {self.dataset.title} given to a user: {self.user}/{self.access_notes}"
         except ObjectDoesNotExist as e:
-                return f"Access ({self.status}) to dataset {self.dataset.title} given to a deleted contact or user: {self.access_notes}"
+            return f"Access ({self.status}) to dataset {self.dataset.title} given to a deleted contact or user: {self.access_notes}"
 
     def delete(self, force: bool = False):
         self.status = StatusChoices.terminated
@@ -159,12 +158,12 @@ def display_locations(self):
 
     @classmethod
     def find_for_user(cls, user) -> List[str]:
-        accesses = cls.objects.filter(user=user, dataset__is_published=True)
+        accesses = cls.objects.annotate(c=Count("dataset__exposures")).filter(user=user, c__gt=0)
         return cls._filter_expired(accesses)
 
     @classmethod
     def find_for_contact(cls, contact) -> List[str]:
-        accesses = cls.objects.filter(contact=contact, dataset__is_published=True)
+        accesses = cls.objects.annotate(c=Count("dataset__exposures")).filter(contact=contact, c__gt=0)
         return cls._filter_expired(accesses)
 
     @staticmethod
diff --git a/core/models/cohort.py b/core/models/cohort.py
index 31d873c2..6482d865 100644
--- a/core/models/cohort.py
+++ b/core/models/cohort.py
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 from django.db import models
 from django.conf import settings
 
-from .utils import CoreTrackedModel, TextFieldWithInputWidget
+from .utils import CoreTrackedDBModel, TextFieldWithInputWidget
 
 
-class Cohort(CoreTrackedModel):
+class Cohort(CoreTrackedDBModel):
     class Meta:
         app_label = 'core'
         get_latest_by = "added"
diff --git a/core/models/dataset.py b/core/models/dataset.py
index d41bed7d..ef990c7e 100644
--- a/core/models/dataset.py
+++ b/core/models/dataset.py
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 from django.conf import settings
 from django.db import models
 from django.urls import reverse
+from django.utils.module_loading import import_string
+
 from guardian.models import GroupObjectPermissionBase, UserObjectPermissionBase
 from core import constants
 from core.permissions.mapping import PERMISSION_MAPPING
@@ -60,6 +62,11 @@ class AppMeta:
                                     verbose_name='Sensitivity class',
                                     help_text='Sensitivity denotes the security classification of this dataset.')
 
+    @property
+    def is_published(self):
+        exposures_list = self.exposures.all()
+        return len(exposures_list) > 0
+
     @property
     def data_types(self):
         all_data_types = set()
@@ -163,13 +170,15 @@ def serialize_to_export(self):
         return d
 
     def publish(self, save=True):
-        if self.project:
-            self.project.publish()
-        
+        generate_id_function_path = getattr(settings, 'IDSERVICE_FUNCTION')
+        generate_id_function = import_string(generate_id_function_path)
+        if not self.elu_accession:
+            self.elu_accession = generate_id_function(self)
+        if save:
+            self.save(update_fields=['elu_accession'])
+
         for data_declaration in self.data_declarations.all():
             data_declaration.publish_subentities()
-
-        super().publish()
         
 
 # faster lookup for permissions
diff --git a/core/models/partner.py b/core/models/partner.py
index d5baf46d..5f3cac1c 100644
--- a/core/models/partner.py
+++ b/core/models/partner.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 from django_countries.fields import CountryField
 
 from model_utils import Choices
-from .utils import CoreTrackedModel, TextFieldWithInputWidget
+from .utils import CoreTrackedDBModel, TextFieldWithInputWidget
 
 from elixir_daisy import settings
 
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 )
 
 
-class Partner(CoreTrackedModel):
+class Partner(CoreTrackedDBModel):
     """
     Represents a partner.
       {
diff --git a/core/models/project.py b/core/models/project.py
index 28ec540c..bc5511e2 100644
--- a/core/models/project.py
+++ b/core/models/project.py
@@ -151,7 +151,9 @@ def __str__(self):
         return self.acronym or self.title or "undefined"
 
 
-
+    @property
+    def is_published(self):
+        return any(dataset.is_published for dataset in self.datasets.all())
 
     def to_dict(self):
         contact_dicts = []
@@ -217,6 +219,9 @@ def serialize_to_export(self):
         d['publications'] = ','.join(publications)
         return d
 
+    def publish(self):
+        pass
+
 # faster lookup for permissions
 # https://django-guardian.readthedocs.io/en/stable/userguide/performance.html#direct-foreign-keys
 class ProjectUserObjectPermission(UserObjectPermissionBase):
diff --git a/core/models/utils.py b/core/models/utils.py
index f9a3f132..0e93bc0b 100644
--- a/core/models/utils.py
+++ b/core/models/utils.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+from abc import abstractmethod
 from json import loads
 from json.decoder import JSONDecodeError
 
@@ -11,6 +12,7 @@
 
 COMPANY = getattr(settings, "COMPANY", 'Company')
 
+
 def validate_json(value):
     if len(value) == 0:
         return value
@@ -18,12 +20,13 @@ def validate_json(value):
     try:
         loads(value)
         if '{' not in value:  # Very inaccurate, but should do the trick when the user tries to save e.g. '123'
-            raise ValidationError(f'`scientific_metadata` field must be a valid JSON containing a dictionary!')    
+            raise ValidationError(f'`scientific_metadata` field must be a valid JSON containing a dictionary!')
         return value
     except JSONDecodeError as ex:
         msg = str(ex)
         raise ValidationError(f'`scientific_metadata` field must contain a valid JSON! ({msg})')
 
+
 class classproperty(property):
     def __get__(self, cls, owner):
         return self.fget.__get__(None, owner)()
@@ -43,11 +46,6 @@ class CoreTrackedModel(CoreModel):
         blank=True,
         null=True,
         max_length=20)
-    
-    is_published = models.BooleanField(
-        default=False,
-        blank=False,
-        verbose_name='Is published?')
 
     scientific_metadata = models.TextField(
         default='{}',
@@ -56,26 +54,17 @@ class CoreTrackedModel(CoreModel):
         verbose_name='Additional scientific metadata (in JSON format)',
         validators=[validate_json]  # This will work in ModelForm only
     )
+
     class Meta:
         abstract = True
 
-    def publish(self, save=True):
-        generate_id_function_path = getattr(settings, 'IDSERVICE_FUNCTION')
-        generate_id_function = import_string(generate_id_function_path)
-        if not self.is_published:
-            self.is_published = True
-            if not self.elu_accession:
-                self.elu_accession = generate_id_function(self)
-        if save:
-            self.save(update_fields=['is_published', 'elu_accession'])
+    @abstractmethod
+    def is_published(self):
+        pass
 
-    def generate_elu_accession(self, save=True):
-        generate_id_function_path = getattr(settings, 'IDSERVICE_FUNCTION')
-        generate_id_function = import_string(generate_id_function_path)
-        if not self.elu_accession:
-            self.elu_accession = generate_id_function(self)
-        if save:
-            self.save(update_fields=['elu_accession'])
+    @abstractmethod
+    def publish(self):
+        pass
 
     def clean(self):
         cleaned_data = super().clean()
@@ -87,6 +76,36 @@ def save(self, *args, **kwargs):
         super().save(*args, **kwargs)
 
 
+class CoreTrackedDBModel(CoreTrackedModel):
+    _is_published = models.BooleanField(
+        default=False,
+        blank=False,
+        verbose_name='Is published?')
+
+    class Meta:
+        abstract = True
+
+    def publish(self, save=True):
+        generate_id_function_path = getattr(settings, 'IDSERVICE_FUNCTION')
+        generate_id_function = import_string(generate_id_function_path)
+        if not self.is_published:
+            self.is_published = True
+            if not self.elu_accession:
+                self.elu_accession = generate_id_function(self)
+        if save:
+            self.save(update_fields=['_is_published', 'elu_accession'])
+    
+    @property
+    def is_published(self):
+        # Getter method
+        return self._is_published
+
+    @is_published.setter
+    def is_published(self, value):
+        # Setter method
+        self._is_published = value
+
+
 class TextFieldWithInputWidget(TextField):
 
     def formfield(self, **kwargs):
@@ -105,11 +124,10 @@ class HashedField(models.CharField):
     A custom field that will store a hash of the provided value.
     """
     description = "Keeps the hash of the string in the DB"
-    
+
     def pre_save(self, model_instance, add):
         """
         This function is called when the value is about to be saved to the DB. We hash the value and return it.
         """
         value = getattr(model_instance, self.attname)
         return make_password(value, salt=settings.SECRET_KEY)
-    
diff --git a/core/tests/test_lcsb.py b/core/tests/test_lcsb.py
index eca22284..6ee24265 100644
--- a/core/tests/test_lcsb.py
+++ b/core/tests/test_lcsb.py
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 from core.lcsb.rems import create_rems_entitlement
 from core.models.access import Access
 from core.models.contact import Contact
-from test.factories import ContactFactory, DatasetFactory, UserFactory
+from test.factories import ContactFactory, DatasetFactory, UserFactory, ExposureFactory, EndpointFactory
 from web.views.utils import get_user_or_contact_by_oidc_id
 
 
@@ -120,7 +120,9 @@ def test_permissions():
     contact = ContactFactory()
     contact.save()
 
-    dataset = DatasetFactory(title='Test', local_custodians=[user], elu_accession='123', is_published=True)
+    dataset = DatasetFactory(title='Test', local_custodians=[user], elu_accession='123')
+    endpoint = EndpointFactory()
+    _ = ExposureFactory(dataset=dataset, endpoint=endpoint)
     dataset.save()
 
     access = Access(access_notes='Access contact', contact=contact, dataset=dataset, status=StatusChoices.active)
diff --git a/elixir_daisy/settings.py b/elixir_daisy/settings.py
index 09236663..74c1584c 100644
--- a/elixir_daisy/settings.py
+++ b/elixir_daisy/settings.py
@@ -282,6 +282,7 @@
         'consent_status',
         'data_types',
         'deidentification_method',
+        'is_published',
     ),
     'contract': (
         'contacts',
diff --git a/web/templates/projects/project.html b/web/templates/projects/project.html
index 6f34df2c..63c1b920 100644
--- a/web/templates/projects/project.html
+++ b/web/templates/projects/project.html
@@ -7,11 +7,6 @@
 {% block content %}
     <div class="row mt-4">
         <div class="jumbotron col">
-            {% if project.is_published %}
-                <div class="ribbon ribbon-green"><span>Published</span></div>
-            {% else %}
-                <div class="ribbon ribbon-orange"><span>Not Published</span></div>
-            {% endif %}
             <span style="color: #8D8F8F;">Project</span>
             <h1>{{ project.acronym }} </h1>
             <div class="row">
@@ -78,24 +73,6 @@ <h1>{{ project.acronym }} </h1>
                             </a>
                         </p>
                     {% endif %}
-                    {% if request.user.can_publish %}
-                        {% if not project.is_published %}
-                            <a href="{% url 'project_publish' pk=project.pk %}"
-                               id="publish"
-                               title="Publish project"
-                               class="btn btn-default bmd-btn-fab float-right">
-                               <i class="material-icons">publish</i>
-                            </a>
-                        {% else %}
-                            <a href="{% url 'project_unpublish' pk=project.pk %}"
-                               id="unpublish"
-                               title="Unpublish project"
-                               data-confirm="Are you sure to unpublish the project? The changes won't be propagated to other systems!"
-                               class="btn btn-default bmd-btn-fab float-right">
-                                <i class="material-icons">undo</i>
-                            </a>
-                        {% endif %}
-                    {% endif %}
                     {% if is_admin %}
                         <a class="btn btn-default bmd-btn-fab float-right"
                            title="Manage project permissions"
@@ -227,6 +204,10 @@ <h2 class="card-title"><span><i class="material-icons">folder</i></span> Data of
                     {% for dataset in project.datasets.all %}
                     <li class="list-group-item">
                         <a href="{% url 'dataset' pk=dataset.id %}">{{ dataset }}</a>
+                        {% if dataset.is_published %}
+                        <span class="badge badge-success">Publicly Available</span>
+                        {% endif %}
+                        
                     </li>
                     {% endfor %}
                 </ul>
diff --git a/web/templates/search/_items/datasets.html b/web/templates/search/_items/datasets.html
index 0aafb272..3a4b743a 100644
--- a/web/templates/search/_items/datasets.html
+++ b/web/templates/search/_items/datasets.html
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ <h2 class="card-title">
                   <a href="{% url 'dataset' pk=dataset.pk %}">{{ dataset.title }}</a>
                 </h2>
                 <ul class="card-text">
+                    <li><strong>Published:</strong> {{ dataset.is_published | yesno }}</li>
                     <li><strong>Datatypes:</strong>
                         {% for datatype in dataset.data_types %}
                             <span class="badge badge-pill badge-secondary">{{ datatype }}</span>
diff --git a/web/tests/views/test_project_views.py b/web/tests/views/test_project_views.py
index 613d32bc..070fb86a 100644
--- a/web/tests/views/test_project_views.py
+++ b/web/tests/views/test_project_views.py
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ def test_project_edit_protected_documents(permissions, group):
     os.remove(document.content.name)
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize('group', [VIPGroup, DataStewardGroup, LegalGroup, AuditorGroup])
-@pytest.mark.parametrize('url_name', ['project_publish', 'project_unpublish', 'projects_export'])
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('url_name', ['projects_export'])
 def test_projects_publications_and_export(permissions, group, url_name):
     user = UserFactory(groups=[group()])
     kwargs = {}
diff --git a/web/urls.py b/web/urls.py
index 0cac011f..4e02d282 100644
--- a/web/urls.py
+++ b/web/urls.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
                               PartnerEditView, partner_search_view, \
                               publish_partner, unpublish_partner
 from web.views.projects import ProjectCreateView, ProjectEditView, ProjectDetailView, \
-                               ProjectDelete, publish_project, unpublish_project, dsw_list_projects
+                               ProjectDelete, dsw_list_projects
 from web.views.publication import PublicationCreateView, PublicationListView, \
                                   PublicationEditView, add_publication_to_project, \
                                   remove_publication_from_project, pick_publication_for_project
@@ -164,8 +164,6 @@
     path('project/<int:pk>/', ProjectDetailView.as_view(), name="project"),
     path('project/<int:pk>/delete', ProjectDelete.as_view(), name="project_delete"),
     path('project/<int:pk>/edit', ProjectEditView.as_view(), name="project_edit"),
-    path('project/<int:pk>/publish', publish_project, name="project_publish"),
-    path('project/<int:pk>/unpublish', unpublish_project, name="project_unpublish"),
     path('project/<int:pk>/add-contact', add_contact_to_project, name="add_contact_to_project"),
     path('project/<int:pk>/add-dataset', datasets.DatasetCreateView.as_view(), name="datasets_add_to_project"),
     path('project/<int:pk>/add-personnel', add_personnel_to_project, name="add_personnel_to_project"),
diff --git a/web/views/api.py b/web/views/api.py
index 62beacad..fffc5781 100644
--- a/web/views/api.py
+++ b/web/views/api.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 from django.core.paginator import Paginator
 from django.http import JsonResponse, HttpResponse, HttpResponseBadRequest
 from django.views.decorators.csrf import csrf_exempt
-from django.db.models import Q
+from django.db.models import Q, Count
 from django.contrib.auth.hashers import get_hasher
 
 from stronghold.decorators import public
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ def get_filtered_entities(request, model_name):
 @protect_with_api_key
 def contracts(request):
     objects = get_filtered_entities(request, 'Contract')
-    objects = objects.filter(project__is_published=True)
+    objects = objects.anotate(c=Count("project__datasets__exposures")).filter(project__is_published=True, c__gt=0)
     if 'project_id' in request.GET:
         project_id = request.GET.get('project_id', '')
         objects = objects.filter(project__id=project_id)
diff --git a/web/views/exposure.py b/web/views/exposure.py
index 01df2349..fdbdfcf1 100644
--- a/web/views/exposure.py
+++ b/web/views/exposure.py
@@ -20,9 +20,11 @@ class DataStewardGroupRequiredMixin(UserPassesTestMixin):
     def test_func(self):
         return can_publish(self.request.user)
 
+
 class ExposureCreateView(DataStewardGroupRequiredMixin, CreateView, AjaxViewMixin):
     model = Exposure
     form_class = ExposureForm
+
     def dispatch(self, request, *args, **kwargs):
         """
         Hook method to save related dataset.
@@ -40,7 +42,8 @@ def form_valid(self, form):
         self.object.dataset = self.dataset
         self.object.save()
         messages.add_message(self.request, messages.SUCCESS, 'exposure endpoint created')
-        self.dataset.generate_elu_accession()
+        # generate elu accession for dataset & publish subentities
+        self.dataset.publish()
         return super().form_valid(form)
 
     def get_form_kwargs(self):
@@ -56,6 +59,7 @@ def get_success_url(self, **kwargs):
 class ExposureEditView(DataStewardGroupRequiredMixin, UpdateView, AjaxViewMixin):
     model = Exposure
     form_class = ExposureEditForm
+
     def dispatch(self, request, *args, **kwargs):
         """
         Hook method to save related dataset and endpoint.
@@ -100,7 +104,8 @@ def remove_exposure(request, dataset_pk, exposure_pk):
     exposure = get_object_or_404(Exposure, pk=exposure_pk)
     if exposure.dataset == dataset:
         exposure.delete()
+    if len(dataset.exposures.all()) < 1:
+        # needed to trigger reindex of dataset and changing dataset.is_published to false
+        dataset.save()
     messages.add_message(request, messages.SUCCESS, 'exposure record deleted.')
     return HttpResponse("exposure deleted")
-
-
diff --git a/web/views/partner.py b/web/views/partner.py
index 6e1e2619..39672c11 100644
--- a/web/views/partner.py
+++ b/web/views/partner.py
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ def unpublish_partner(request, pk):
     partner = get_object_or_404(Partner, pk=pk)
     if partner.is_published:
         partner.is_published = False    
-    partner.save(update_fields=['is_published'])
+    partner.save(update_fields=['_is_published'])
     return HttpResponseRedirect(reverse_lazy('partner', kwargs={'pk': pk}))
 
 
diff --git a/web/views/projects.py b/web/views/projects.py
index 651e7192..03a35fec 100644
--- a/web/views/projects.py
+++ b/web/views/projects.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 from django.contrib.auth.decorators import user_passes_test
 from django.contrib.contenttypes.models import ContentType
 from django.db import transaction, IntegrityError
+from django.db.models import Count
 from django.http import HttpResponse
 from django.shortcuts import render, get_object_or_404, redirect
 from django.urls import reverse_lazy
@@ -267,26 +268,12 @@ def get_context_data(self, **kwargs):
         return context
 
 
-@user_passes_test(is_data_steward)
-def publish_project(request, pk):
-    project = get_object_or_404(Project, pk=pk)
-    project.publish()
-    return redirect(reverse_lazy('project', kwargs={'pk': project.id}))
-
-
-@user_passes_test(is_data_steward)
-def unpublish_project(request, pk):
-    project = get_object_or_404(Project, pk=pk)
-    project.is_published = False
-    project.save()
-    return redirect(reverse_lazy('project', kwargs={'pk': project.id}))
-
-
 def dsw_list_projects(request):
     #if data steward or admin -> list all the public projects
     # if(request.user.is_admin() | request.user.is_datasteward()):
     #     objects = Project.objects.all().filter(is_published=True)
-    objects = (Project.objects.filter(local_custodians=request.user, is_published=True) | Project.objects.filter(company_personnel=request.user, is_published=True)).distinct()
+    objects = (Project.objects.filter(local_custodians=request.user) | Project.objects.filter(company_personnel=request.user)).distinct()
+    objects = objects.annotate(c=Count('datasets__exposures')).filter(c__gt=0)
     return render(request, 'integrations/dsw/project_list.html', {
         'dsw_origin': getattr(settings, 'DSW_ORIGIN', 'localhost'),
         'projects': [{'url': reverse('project', args=[str(project.id)]),