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ACS Publications Partners with Silverchair for Next-Generation Delivery Platform

Silverchair today announced a partnership with the Publications division of the American Chemical Society (ACS Publications) to develop a new content hosting platform that will deliver ACS’s indispensable chemistry-related resources to the global research community.

ACS Publications is a leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through over 85 peer-reviewed journals, as well as digital books, reference materials, and educational tools. The new platform will be home to over 1.9 million journal articles that are accessed over 345 million times each year, as well as nearly 1,000 informational pages about the journals and their editors and editorial boards.

“As a leader and innovator in the world of scientific publishing, we sought a true technology partner to support our mission-critical product infrastructure,” said Atul Pawar, ACS Publications Chief Technology Officer. “Within the landscape of scholarly publishing technology, we found Silverchair to be uniquely capable of offering the scale to support our vast content library and heavy user traffic, as well as the flexibility and partnership as we grow and evolve in the years ahead.”

The platform’s advanced architecture, modular integration capabilities, and service model deliver the core functionality and strong foundation upon which ACS can differentiate their products, while Silverchair’s independence, culture of collaboration, and client-led development combine to make them the ideal choice for this next-generation delivery platform.

“ACS Publications is the global leader not just in the field of chemistry, but also in scholarly publishing,” said Will Schweitzer, Silverchair CEO. “We’re honored and proud to support ACS Publications’ commitment to publish high-quality, impactful research, and that the Silverchair platforms will help ACS Publications fulfill their important mission. ACS joins our growing and diverse client community, and their leadership within scholarly publishing will help us advance our platforms and services to support the future of independent scholarly publishers.”

Serbia adopts Open Science Platform 2.0

The Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of Serbia has adopted a new national open science (OS) policy – the Open Science Platform 2.0 – that applies to all Serbian publicly-funded research projects and programmes. 

EIFL welcomes the adoption of the policy, which significantly expands the scope of OS efforts in Serbia, and updates the country’s first national OS policy, which was adopted in 2018. 

In addition to mandating open access (OA) for publicly funded research, the new policy states that universities and research institutes must update their institutional OS policies within six months to comply with the national policy.

The policy emphasizes five key goals: (1) OA to scholarly publications; (2) availability of research data; (3) open and transparent access to research infrastructures; (4) transparency of scholarly communication and methodology, including the availability of software source code, design documentation of research hardware and other digital objects used in the analysis of research data, and (5) the development of the digital infrastructure and competencies that make it possible to achieve the goals of the policy. 

The Open Science Platform 2.0 was drafted by the Team for Open Science in Serbia (TONuS), a dedicated task force established by the Ministry, including more than 30 researchers, policy makers, funders and librarians. Compliance with the policy will be monitored using indicators that will be developed by TONuS.

THE MAIN ELEMENTS OF THE POLICY

  • Mandatory OA to all publicly funded publications (including journal articles, monographs, book chapters, conference papers, and PhD theses) upon publication. Embargo periods of up to three months for natural and medical sciences and engineering, and six months for social sciences and humanities may be allowed.
  • When signing publishing agreements, authors should retain the intellectual property rights necessary to enable depositing in repositories and providing OA.
  • Publication fees in OA journals, monographs, conference proceedings and edited volumes are eligible only if planned in the research project or programme budget and if the publication venue has transparent editorial policies. Publication fees charged by hybrid OA publication venues, which include a mixture of OA and subscription-based articles, are not eligible for funding.
  • The Ministry supports the Diamond OA publishing model, where neither authors nor readers pay fees, by recommending that authors publish their research in Diamond OA journals whenever possible and by providing subsidies only to Diamond OA journals.
  • Publicly-subsidized journals, monographs and conference proceedings must follow open licensing policies.
  • Research data resulting from publicly funded projects must be managed according to the FAIR principles (FAIR stands for Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) and archived in FAIR-compliant repositories. Data management plans are mandatory for publicly-funded projects and programmes.
  • OA to research data underlying publications is required unless legal, ethical, or contractual restrictions apply.
  • The policy recommends making software source code and research hardware design documentation created through public funding openly accessible, human- and machine-readable, and licensed under open licences.
  • Research infrastructures should be transparently available to researchers, with institutions ensuring clear access policies.
  • Persistent identifiers (PIDs) are required for researchers (ORCID) and publications (DOI). The use of PIDs for all research outputs, instruments, and projects is recommended.
  • Developing OS skills is encouraged through academic programmes, professional training and the establishment of national competency centres.
  • Institutions are encouraged to introduce incentives and rewards for OS practices.

Reflections on the Current Moment from SSP’s Board of Directors

The recent months have been deeply unsettling for those of us who work in the global scholarly communications industry.  The challenges stemming from a shifting U.S. political landscape, which threaten academic freedom, DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) initiatives, the scholarly record, and federal research funding, are affecting the Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) community in multiple ways: mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially.

A cornerstone of SSP’s strategic plan is to foster DEIA in our community through demonstrated leadership to expand the diversity of professionals working in scholarly communications. During these uncertain and stressful times, the SSP Board of Directors remains firmly dedicated to our core values of community, inclusivity, adaptability, and integrity, and we are unwavering in our commitment to DEIA. 

We also remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting the well-being of all our volunteer members by providing a safe space where they can connect, collaborate, problem-solve, network, and build friendships. For example, our recently launched SSP Community Interest Group for Mental Health Awareness and Action meets virtually each month and offers tangible resources and potential solutions to alleviate the burdens we face today. SSP members (including anyone who works at an SSP member organization) are welcome to join. In addition, we are having broader discussions in multiple arenas, including several posts on recent events in The Scholarly Kitchen. We invite you to share your comments and stay abreast of the ever-changing policies and initiatives that affect us all.

Since we were established in 1978, SSP has intentionally demonstrated an unwavering commitment to building a diverse and inclusive community. We actively infuse our work with equitable values, including providing leadership as a founding member of the Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Publishing (C4DISC), an intraorganizational body of trade and professional organizations formed to discuss and address issues of diversity and inclusion. 

Our ongoing mission to promote and advance scholarly communication through networking, information dissemination, and facilitation of new developments in the field serves as a reminder that, as a community of compassionate and dedicated professionals, we will navigate these challenges together.

The SSP Board of Directors 

PLOS Price Transparency Update 2024

We’re pleased to once again share our annual reporting from the Plan S Journal Comparison Service to give our community insight into how our publication fees are used to support journal activities. 

Price transparency snapshot for 2023
The data in the table below reflects the reporting we provided to the Journal Comparison Service at the end of 2024 covering the year 2023. It’s based on the publication fee for a Research Article in each journal at that time and the services we provide for each article we receive (not just those which are ultimately published).

While the price breakdown among the broad categories provided by the framework remains largely the same year to year, we are always innovating to meet the needs of our communities. In 2023 we invested in processes, tools and systems to further support our high publication ethics standards, as well as strengthening our overall digital infrastructure to meet growing submissions. 

Of course, there are always variances between journals in line with differences in their editorial models and development stage. Community Development, for example, takes a greater share of the allocation for our newer journals as we continue to establish those journals in their respective fields. We encourage you to look back at our original post for more detail on key differences between our journal models.

You can find our full report from the framework in this spreadsheet.

 2023 APC price% of price for journal and community development% of price from submission to first decision% of price for peer review management% of price for services from acceptance to publication% of price for services after publication% of price for platform development% of price for sales & marketing to customers or of articles% of price for author and customer support
PLOS Computational Biology$2,84110%14%12%18%8%11%18%9%
PLOS Digital Health$2,57521%11%10%18%8%13%10%9%
PLOS Genetics$2,84112%14%13%17%8%10%17%9%
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases$2,67011%13%11%18%8%12%18%9%
PLOS Pathogens$2,84110%14%12%18%8%11%18%9%
PLOS Biology$5,50020%23%19%11%5%5%12%5%
PLOS Medicine$6,30016%18%16%12%6%7%18%7%
PLOS Sustainability and Transformation$3,00030%13%12%13%6%10%9%7%
PLOS Climate$2,10021%25%14%11%10%8%6%5%
PLOS Global Public Health$2,10021%14%12%15%8%12%10%8%
PLOS Water$2,10021%28%14%9%10%7%6%5%
PLOS One$1,93112%14%11%16%8%12%18%9%

Beyond the APC
While the data above are based on the standard publication fee for each journal, PLOS has long been working to reimagine more equitable and sustainable models for open access publishing that do not rely on APCs. Each of our journals are currently supported by institutional business models to address different challenges such as the high-cost of selective publishing and regional economic disparities.

As a non-profit organization, PLOS also works alongside researchers, librarians, and funders to redefine publishing norms and effect positive change. In 2024 we received three major grants to advance this work: a 3-year funding package from the Gates Foundation which will support PLOS during our transition to APC-free publishing and funding support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation launching our 18-month Research and Design project which seeks to transform publishing models to ensure that science is open, recognized, and accessible to all.

We’re excited to provide updates on the R&D project throughout the year. You can also find more information about our finances and strategic initiatives on our Financial Overview page.

JAMS Relaunch Empowers Small Publishers with Enhanced Support and Flexible Pricing

Since 2010, MDPI has run its own online submission system. More recently, we have made the software, with accompanying publishing services, available to other publishers as JAMS (Journal and Article Management System). We are now delighted to announce the launch of JAMS Journals, a standardized platform for operating open access journals at low cost.

JAMS Journals provides a comprehensive service, including a shared submission website, journal websites hosted at a URL provided by the publisher, and a full production service. There is a small setup fee and the cost for each published paper is just a few hundred Swiss francs.

The platform demonstrates that running an open access journal can be straightforward and affordable. The JAMS Journals platform is suitable for

  • small publishers or groups of scholars looking to launch their own journal;
  • existing publishers or societies seeking to explore open access options;
  • publishers looking to convert an existing subscription journal to open access.

JAMS journals launches with two journals from Canadian-based publisher Etcetera Publications:

Dr AJ Al-Rajab (President of Etcetera Publications) comments:

“In the past few months, we were working on our project to launch new open access scientific journals in the field of agricultural and environmental sciences. We decided to go with JAMS for this venture because of the high quality of their services, reasonable prices, professionalism and easy communication. Our portfolio is expected to grow rapidly during 2019 to include more titles covering different areas in agriculture and environment. MDPI earned already our complete satisfaction and we are looking for a long term cooperation.”

Alongside the new platform, we continue to provide flexible, tailored journal management solutions for existing publishers. For any questions or to request a quotation, contact Dr. Constanze Schelhorn (constanze.schelhorn@mdpi.com).

MIS Quarterly Partners with Silverchair

Silverchair announced today a new partnership to host the MIS Quarterly journal on the Silverchair Platform. MIS Quarterly has been partnered with Silverchair’s ScholarOne Manuscripts product since 2007 and looks forward to the efficiencies of the new combined organization.

MIS Quarterly is a top-rated peer-reviewed academic journal covering research in management information systems and information technology. In their search for a new hosting platform provider, MIS Quarterly sought to enhance their digital offering and streamline the user experience. The Silverchair Platform’s robust suite of self-service tools will enable MIS Quarterly staff to manage the site, access controls, deposits, and more in a cost-effective, efficient, and user-friendly manner.

“Silverchair’s client community is comprised of a wide range of publishers, spanning disciplines, business models, and sizes, and we’re pleased to welcome MIS Quarterly to that cohort,” said Silverchair CEO Will Schweitzer. “Our new partnership will deliver not only state-of-the-art technology and added efficiencies, but also opportunities for collaboration with industry-leading peers.”

“MIS Quarterly is pleased to partner with Silverchair for its content delivery to all the scholars interested in the role of information systems and technologies in business and society,” said MIS Quarterly Publisher Alok Gupta. “We look forward to providing our authors and readers with an enhanced experience and presenting content with higher fidelity by integrating our content and associated media across different platforms in a cohesive manner.”

Clarivate Unveils Transformative Subscription-Based Access Strategy for Academia

Clarivate Plc, a leading global provider of transformative intelligence, today announced a new subscription-based content access strategy. The new approach breaks down barriers through broad and affordable access to highly curated, trusted academic resources, including Ebooks and primary digital collections, enabling every library to support research, teaching and learning goals.

The way institutions purchase books, journals and other content for their users has shifted in recent years, particularly post-pandemic. Increasingly, libraries are faced with complex buying models that do not offer the content they require to support curricula and research needs. Libraries continue to prioritize solutions that offer affordability in a sustainable way.

At the same time, AI-powered chatbots are becoming ubiquitous as a method of discovery for students and researchers. The ability of academic AI tools to deliver reliable outputs depends on access to broad, vetted academic content.

Bar Veinstein, President, Academia & Government at Clarivate said: “We’re addressing libraries’ evolving needs by breaking down barriers and delivering seamless access to our curated content. Our goal is to make learning and research more accessible and affordable at a large scale, unlocking opportunities for every library, in every classroom and at every research department.

“Through this transformative approach, we’re helping institutions connect end users with academic AI tools grounded in comprehensive curated content, reinforcing libraries’ essential role in upholding academic integrity and excellence.”

The new strategy includes the introduction of two market-leading solutions that are now available.

ProQuest Ebooks offers the world’s largest subscription of high-quality, multidisciplinary scholarly Ebooks, including:

  • Over 700,000 Ebooks, across 10 core disciplines, plus additional essential interdisciplinary titles, enabling librarians to meet the needs of their faculty and students with broad discovery and access to the Ebooks they need
  • A new Ebook Central Reader app to enable students to read and bookmark on the go
  • The addition of Ebook Central Research Assistant, a powerful new AI tool designed to enhance student learning and streamline research.

ProQuest Digital Collections offers subscription to unparalleled breadth, value and access to primary sources across a rich variety of content formats:

  • Over 160 million primary source items complemented by over 2,500 full-text scholarly journals, more than 24,000 video titles, and 15 million audio tracks. The subscription builds upon over 30 years of digitizing primary sources, including many rare and unique resources.
  • Broad and interdisciplinary in scope, the subscription provides access to nine ProQuest One discipline solutions including Anthropology, Entertainment & Popular Culture, Global Studies & International Relations, History, Literature, Performing Arts, Visual Arts & Design.
  • ProQuest Research Assistant will continue to help students and researchers use academic AI responsibly, rooted in trusted academic content. The research assistant will expand over time to fully support ProQuest Digital Collections.

As part of this transformative strategy and following changes in demand from libraries, Clarivate will also phase out one-time perpetual purchases of digital collections, print and digital books for libraries. These transitions will take place throughout 2025, in close co-operation with customers. For more details see our support page.

Veinstein said: “From the introduction of Ebook subscriptions to index-based linking and discovery, creating cloud-based library management systems and academic AI research assistants, we have a proven history of pioneering and collaborating at the forefront of the industry.

“We’re now embarking on a new era in how institutions and their users access and consume content. We are committed to working as closely as ever with libraries and publishers, providing the guidance and solutions needed to meet the evolving needs of the community.”

For more information on ProQuest Ebooks, see here.

For more information on ProQuest Digital Collections click here.

California Universities and Oxford University Press Sign Landmark Open Access Agreement

The 10-campus University of California system (UC), 20 of 23 California State University (CSU) campuses, and 30 private academic and research institutions represented by the Statewide California Electronic Library Consortium (SCELC) have reached a comprehensive four-year transformative open access agreement with Oxford University Press (OUP). The agreement begins this month and will provide affiliated researchers with access to OUP’s world-leading journals and support for publishing their work open access.

“This partnership between UC, CSU and SCELC demonstrates the power of collaboration across diverse institutions,” said Mark Hanna, Associate Professor of History at UC San Diego and chair of the UC faculty Academic Senate’s systemwide committee on library and scholarly communication. “By joining forces, we are advancing open access and amplifying the global impact of California’s scholarship. I’m excited to see this significant step forward, which reflects our shared commitment to creating a more accessible, equitable, and sustainable future for scholarly communication.”

This major agreement harnesses the resources of research institutions, private liberal arts colleges, comprehensive universities, and special libraries across California by redirecting existing library subscription funds to support authors publishing open access. The agreement enables authors at the participating institutions to publish articles using an open access license at reduced or no cost in more than 500 hybrid and fully open access OUP journals. Authors with grant funds available will pay a discounted open access publishing fee across OUP’s hybrid and fully open access journals. Authors who do not have grant funds available will be able to publish open access in hybrid journals at no cost to them. 

“As a catalyst for transformative change in scholarly communication, SCELC is dedicated to forging agreements that empower libraries and their researchers,” said Teri Oaks Gallaway, SCELC executive director. “By working with Oxford University Press, we are not only expanding access to high-impact research but also driving a more sustainable and equitable publishing future for our member institutions.”

Transformative agreements provide a way for institutions to maintain access to scholarly content available only through subscription, while supporting the transition to open access publishing by their affiliated researchers. Institutions are, in effect, redirecting their expenditures on subscriptions to cover the open access article publication charges. Through this agreement, thousands of researchers at 60 institutions will be eligible for financial support when they choose to publish open access in OUP journals.

“CSU libraries are delighted to provide our students and faculty with access to more OUP journals than ever before and the opportunity to openly publish their research,” said Ann Roll, Director of Systemwide Digital Library Content at the CSU Office of the Chancellor. “Through transformative and collaborative work with our partners at UC and SCELC, CSU research can be shared openly and CSU students will have the OUP resources they need for their success, all at a sustainable cost to CSU libraries.”

The aim of this transformative agreement is to make it easier and more affordable for authors from SCELC, CSU and UC institutions to publish open access rather than behind a paywall, while also controlling the participating institutions’ journal expenditures. Like other transformative agreements at UC, CSU and SCELC, this agreement aligns with the institutions’ missions and contributes to the global shift towards sustainable open access publishing by making more research and scholarship from California freely available to the world.

The agreement demonstrates how innovative, diverse, multi-institution cooperation can play a vital role in the open access movement by ensuring that researchers at academic institutions of all types can fully engage in the benefits of open access publishing.

“We are delighted to reach this agreement with the California universities,” said Alastair Lewis, Sales Director, OUP. “The negotiations for this agreement have been positive and constructive, and we are really excited to expand access to our world-leading journals and open access publishing across these universities.”

IOP Publishing and Fudan University convene experts to explore AI and Machine Learning’s impact on the Physical sciences 

IOP Publishing and Fudan University are organising a one-day international workshop, AI-driven discoveries: Machine Learning for the Physical Sciences. The event brings together leading researchers from around the world to explore how machine learning and AI are transforming the physical sciences.  

The international workshop provides an opportunity for leading and early-career researchers to share their work and spark ideas. Distinguished experts in the field will deliver plenary talks including:  

  • Prof Kyle Cranmer, University of Wisconsin-Madison 
  • Prof Weinan E, Center for Machine Learning Research, Peking University 
  • Prof Xingao Gong, Fudan University 
  • Prof Hideki Okawa, Institute of High Energy Physics, CAS 
  • Prof Dongling Deng, Tsinghua University 

The event will be free online and will be streamed via Zoom and KouShare to ensure international accessibility. For those wishing to join in person, attendance is available for a fee. 

Topics will include: 

  • Machine learning for high-energy particle physics 
  • Quantum machine learning 
  • Machine learning and big data at large-scale facilities 
  • Discovery of new materials and molecules 

Jian Shen, Head of Institute for Nanoelectronic devices and Quantum computing and Director of State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics at Fudan University, says: “We are honoured to bring together some of the world’s leading machine learning scientists to advance this rapidly evolving research area. Machine learning is revolutionising the way we approach scientific problems, and this event will highlight the pivotal role it plays in pushing the boundaries of research.”  

Tim Smith, Head of Portfolio Development at IOP Publishing says: “Co-organising this event with Fudan University presents a unique opportunity for researchers from around the world to learn from leaders in their field and discuss some of the latest developments in how AI and machine learning are helping to advance new discovery across the physical sciences. Aligned with our recently launched Machine Learning series of journals this workshop further exemplifies IOP Publishing’s commitment to fostering global collaboration and driving new innovations through the scientific community we serve.”  

Join us for a one-day workshop on April 27, 2025, hosted at Fudan University in Shanghai. Registration opens today (February 11) via the Zoom registration page. 

For further details, visit our event website at https://ioppublishing.org/ai-driven-discoveries/. 

Sage begins 60th year highlighting progress in new Independence with Impact Report

Sage releases its annual Independence with Impact Report highlighting achievements from 2024. For 60 years, Sage has published resources that advance disciplines, cultivate critical thinking skills in the classroom, and drive social change inside and outside of our organization. This year’s report reflects the progress the company made enabling academic impact; increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion; advancing sustainability; promoting academic freedom; safeguarding research integrity; and supporting new ways of learning.   

The report reflects the company’s firm commitment to developing and widely disseminating high-quality research and resources from diverse perspectives on an array of topics that impact humanity. “The core values that guide our business activities now are the same that have shaped our company since its founding in 1965,” says Blaise Simqu, Sage CEO. “In our current era of misinformation, the need to develop media literacy and critical thinking and support academic freedom is greater now than ever.”  

Highlights include:  

  • In response to our current era of misinformation, all of our 2024 teaching resources help to foster critical thinking skills in students. Additionally, we organized the fifth annual Critical Thinking Bootcamp, and hosted a webinar featuring Dr. Tom Chatfield, bestselling author of Sage’s Critical Thinking. The events attracted more than 2,000 registrants from around the world.  
  • Sage Policy Profiles, a free, browser-based tool that enables researchers to easily find, visualize, and share their work’s citations in policy documents worldwide, gained over 19,000 users by the end of 2024.  
  • We achieved a 52 percent reduction in our global emissions across our operations using 2019 as our baseline.  
  • In the US and UK combined, the 67 percent of leadership roles held by women matches the percentage of women in sage’s workforce. 
  • We were the first publisher to adopt Dimensions Author Check, a tool that helps us review author networks and publication histories, making it easier to spot patterns of misconduct and paper mill activity. 
  • Our US and UK employees dedicated over 1600 hours to nonprofits and charities through volunteer initiatives. 
  • More than 200 participants at the annual ALA Conference read passages from their favorite banned books at the Sage-sponsored “Banned Books from the Big Chair” event in support of the freedom to read.

“Looking back at our 2024 milestones, we recognize that our independence as a publisher paved the way for these achievements — developing resources that foster sharper thinking skills in students, forging meaningful relationships with partners who share our values, publishing social science that creates a more inclusive and equitable society,” reflects Blaise Simqu. “This work starts from the inside out by operating mindfully and efficiently and making sure our workplaces are environments where people of all backgrounds belong and can thrive, and they represent incredible work from our talented staff. I am proud of what where we stand at the end of our first 60 years and look forward to the next 60 and beyond.” 

Read the full Independence with Impact Report.     

Wiley launches pilot pricing framework to support equitable OA publishing for researchers in Latin America

Wiley, one of the world’s largest publishers and a trusted leader in research and learning, today announced a pilot pricing program to provide discounts for research authors based in Latin America, reinforcing its commitment to deliver equitable publishing options for scholars across the globe.  

The pilot program, which began on January 21, 2025, supports authors across 33 countries in Latin America, including in Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean, to publish research in Wiley’s portfolio of nearly 600 gold open access journals. Discounts on Article Publication Charges (APCs) are applied in direct relationship to the Purchasing Power Index (PPI) value of each participating country, informed by data from the World Bank International Comparison Program. The anticipated timeline for the pilot is 12 months, with a mid-term review to inform future actions.  

“We are always striving to make publishing more accessible for scholars around the globe and we hope that this pilot will help us understand whether purchasing power parity helps advance a sustainable and fair approach,” said Kathryn Sharples, Wiley VP, Publishing Strategy & Policy. “Latin America is a diverse region with a variety of economies. Our aim is to provide a nuanced approach that supports authors while also helping us explore the best pathway to equitable pricing.” 

Outside of the pilot, Wiley continues to offer waivers and discounts to authors from Research4Life countries around the globe. Additionally, the publisher has a number of open access agreements in place with institutions across Latin America.  

Digital Science announces Catalyst Grant winners, rewarding innovations to safeguard research integrity

Digital Science has awarded its latest Catalyst Grants to two innovative teams, supporting their technology ideas aimed at safeguarding research integrity and strengthening trust in science.

The winners will use the funding and mentorship from Digital Science to develop their ideas, both of which include enhanced dashboards – visualizations based on available data – to flag retracted or questionable research papers.

The winning applications from Digital Science’s 2024 Catalyst Grant round announced today are:

  • PostPub – led by Dr Achal Agrawal (Founder), with Dr Moumita Koley (Senior Research Analyst, DST-Center for Policy Research, and Research Fellow, RoRI, UK)
  • VIRUS (Visualization of Irregular Research Under Scrutiny) – led by Dr Lonni Besançon, with Dr Fabrice Frank

PostPub – based in India

This team aims to address a lack of awareness of research misconduct as well as a lack of accountability for those engaged in it. PostPub, which has already established its own Retraction Dashboard, will draw on Digital Science data to extend the dashboard. The dashboard will visualize gaps in the data-sharing practices of researchers across countries and journals, and journal response times when integrity issues are flagged, and will flag irregular activity. PostPub also aims to create a notification system to alert responsible parties about these irregularities, and to track actions taken, helping to improve accountability in research.

VIRUS – based in Sweden

This team is developing a real-time visualization system and dashboard intended to be used by scientific “sleuths”, as well as research integrity teams from publishers, editorial teams in journals, and universities. The system will keep records of papers that have been flagged as questionable, as well as their impact on several scholarly measures – such as citations, altmetrics, and policy attention – to better understand the potentially harmful impact these papers could have. The team aims to move away from smaller, curated subsets of papers to using much wider databases, such as Digital Science’s own Dimensions, the world’s most complete database of linked research information.

PostPub’s Dr Achal Agrawal said: “We are honored to receive the Catalyst Grant from Digital Science, enabling us to take the research integrity work we have begun to the next stage of development. Through our work, we hope to incentivize researchers, universities and publishers to do the right thing and encourage greater responsibility for research integrity. In the long term, we hope our work will help in reducing research malpractices and increase transparency with respect to actions taken by various stakeholders.”

VIRUS’s Dr Lonni Besançon said: “We are both happy and honoured to receive this Catalyst Grant from Digital Science in what we hope to be a successful venture coordinated with the research and sleuthing of Forensics Scientometrics. We believe our system has a particularly important role to play in visually assessing and communicating the impact of questionable papers which are still cited or used in policy documents or clinical guidelines. We hope VIRUS will make it easier to prioritize investigations and editorial decisions and help provide a faster and more efficient decontamination of the scientific literature. Ultimately, we anticipate that this work will be the first of a long collaboration with Digital Science and its amazing team.”

Digital Science CEO Dr Daniel Hook said: “I congratulate our new winners of the Digital Science Catalyst Grant. Each of this year’s winners has approached a key issue of research integrity from an innovative angle, and focusing on practical solutions that have the potential to safeguard research and build people’s trust in science. I also want to thank Dr Leslie McIntosh, a prior Catalyst winner and VP Research Integrity at Digital Science, for working with our Catalyst team, headed by Steve Scott, to bring about this integrity-focussed Catalyst Grant.  We look forward to mentoring the successful teams to make the most of the Catalyst Grant and to take their ideas to wider audiences.”

Steve Scott, Director of Portfolio Development at Digital Science, said: “We’ve been impressed by the excellence of this year’s entries in the Digital Science Catalyst Grant. Our focus this year on research integrity demonstrates our commitment to addressing some of the biggest issues facing the research ecosystem today. The innovative solutions presented by our winning teams show great promise, and we’re excited to see where they will go from here.”

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