Public Trust, Societies and Open Science 

In the context of extreme

global events, I find myself turning more and more to the possibilities of a collective

response. Scientists have made enormous efforts in recent years for deeper and

faster collaboration. And scientific research publication bears a profoundly

important social responsibility. On both these fronts, society publishers are

in the vanguard.

 

The context for their

efforts is stark. Too frequently, in an often poor-quality, binary public

debate, public trust in the veracity of science, in its intentions and its

cost, falls away. Political accountability grows weaker when we don’t have the

science, the trade-offs, and the difficult choices in view.

 

At Frontiers, we want

to help change that. We are a fully open access publisher. We want all science

to be open. To us, global, existential threats call for scientific

breakthroughs at pace, based on full and immediate access to the latest

research.

 

Now the move to open access

is underway across parts of the publishing industry, and I know the appetite for

it is building. But in my view, the pace of change does not match the

aspirations I sense in society publishers. As the campaign group cOAlition S itself points out,

more than half of the two thousand transformative journals enrolled in the Plan

S program have missed their annual targets in the move to full open access.

Meanwhile two thirds of the world’s science remains behind a paywall.

 

Add to this the arrival

of transformative agreements – "read and publish" or hybrid deals –

which have in

our view

sown confusion and opacity, and of course, societies are looking hard for

certainty and clarity. With a decision to publish open access – and the

commitment to deeper and faster scientific collaboration – I believe they can

find both. It is possible to find the right fit. It is possible to meet the

appetite for open access while protecting, and growing, sustainable income.

 

At Frontiers, we offer

a platform that is industry standard while also being open to a tailored

approach to a society’s specific needs. We can extend the brand, dissemination,

and financial future of societies. We support societies with guaranteed minimum incomes, when necessary. We are building partnerships and agreements with

funding institutions across the world to broaden opportunities to society

authors. And we work hard to be financially transparent with our partners, to share

our evidence and expectations of sustainable profit. We believe the traditional

subscription model leads to excessive costs. It is still the case that the average price of an article in a legacy journal is significantly

higher than it is in open access journals.[1]

 

So, we need to realign

expectations. And with flexibility, ambition, and focus, I think commercial and

society publishers have an enormous opportunity to drive change that is both good

for business, and good for society. As we face down global challenges, open access

science can grow our chances of success. And it can help meet public appetite

for accountability, transparency, and trust.

 

 

[1] It is not transformation

if nothing changes, 2022

(figure 2), Frontiers,

2022

About the Author

Robyn Mugridge

Robyn joined the Open Access publisher Frontiers in 2018. In

2019 she moved onto the role of publishing partnerships manager and established

the Publishing Partnerships department. Promoted to head of publishing partnerships

in 2022, her work now focuses on strategic collaborations with societies and

associations, supporting them as they engage with their communities and develop

their publications by transitioning to open access publishing models.

Further Information

Twitter

 

Frontiers

Publishing Partnerships @FrontPartners

 

Frontiers @FrontiersIn

 

Robyn

Mugridge @MugsPubs

 

LinkedIn

 

Frontiers https://www.linkedin.com/company/frontiers/

 

Robyn Mugridge https://www.linkedin.com/in/robyn-mugridge-8a461b86/