Analysis and news


expanding preprints guidance, piloting a simple way for authors to submit from bioRxiv to our journals, and signing transformative agreements with consortia around the world. This is in addition to publishing almost 300 OA journals. Taylor & Francis colleagues are also deeply involved in the changes in scholarly communications, including membership of the Boards and Working Groups of OASPA, Dryad, Metadata 2020, Research Data Alliance, Center for Open Science, as well as STM Committees on Research Data and Open Peer Review, among many others. However, Plan S crystallised the fact


that for many, it still does not feel like the pace of change is fast enough. Plan S was about more than just OA – it was a call to arms to create a research communication environment that fits today’s needs. There is potential to do more: we can see this. For us, this year will set the tone and direction for a series of developments that we undertake with the research, funder and publishing communities. F1000 Research has typically


concentrated on life science research, and the ambition is to offer researchers from a much broader range of disciplines the option to publish in the F1000 Research model. Achieving this is not simply a question of scaling up, but also being acutely aware of the different needs of these communities. For example, ethics, data, and even the concept of a preprint, all take on a different form when we come to model what F1000 Research looks like in the humanities. Moving forward, F1000 Research and


Taylor & Francis can build on Routledge’s strong heritage in arts, humanities and social sciences to collaborate with partners in these communities to design models that work for these communities. Other areas of focus include expanding


the range of gateways and platforms that F1000 Research supports, alongside broadening the range of services provided to funders, universities, university presses, scholarly societies, and other publishers – we want to share the model with all. With these stakeholders we want to continue to set standards and processes that maximise the interoperability of research outputs, and support researchers and those beyond the academy to make use of the knowledge to help solve the challenges faced by humanity. It may sound like a lofty ambition, but we believe it is both an essential and urgent one. Taylor & Francis also has a lot to gain


through this partnership. We want to use this as an opportunity to recalibrate conversations and perceptions about


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the various actors across scholarly communications. For example, much of our work is focused on defining, measuring and supporting authors to achieve impact for their work, which is a focus that funders share. Many commentators often reference a perceived obsession with the Impact Factor on behalf of publishers, as a measure of impact. However, we are just as keen to look


more broadly at what impact means, and see the work we publish play a role in improving lives. When we refer to Impact Factor, we encourage people to understand how to use it responsibly, but also understand how it has become a key part of the awards and incentives system hard-wired in many academic institutions. We are keen to see this change. So many frustrations in the current


system come from groups talking at cross-purposes. Funders have called for greater transparency so people are clear about what publishers ‘do’. Unpicking what


“There is an


enormous amount of value that established


that we all value: trust, truth, quality, integrity and impact: we of course remain totally committed to supporting the research communities and organisations we currently provide publishing services to through our publications. Taylor & Francis’ portfolio, with its high proportion of social science, arts and humanities content, presents a particular challenge. In part, this is because there is often little funding to cover publishing costs in these disciplines under current models if research is to be published open access. Beyond this, in these communities there


publishers provide to the research community”


this means needs to be at the root of a more constructive discourse about how we, as publishers, best serve our purpose of helping others to access and realise the transformative power of trustworthy knowledge – as opposed to fake news. F1000 Research has a workflow that is open from end-to-end and understand instinctively the importance of transparency. Along with many of the other partners that Taylor & Francis works with, F1000 Research is part of a wider conversation to help people understand why the services that publishers provide has both currency and value, particularly when it comes to establishing trust and by working together, this is an area that we hope to improve on.


A careful balancing act All of this does, at times, feel like a careful balancing act. There is an enormous amount of value that established publishers provide to the research community. So, from Taylor & Francis’ point of view, as we consider our particular role in changing the system, we want to do this without undermining the things


is often not the same appetite for open access and open research, partly because existing open workflows and processes have been modelled for STEM disciplines. Through our new partnership, we see a role in helping to explain the benefits and to create the right environment to allow open research practices to flourish in a wider range of research communities. Together, we have already begun to test out ways to make progress with the particular needs of these groups of researchers in mind. Along with many of the other larger publishers, we are also mindful of the network of societies that are supported by publishing, either directly through their journals, or indirectly through sponsorships, prizes and conferences. We do not want to see the valuable work these societies do to build networks, foster career progression and support standards, to become collateral damage in a race to transition to an open environment. We are therefore keen to support societies in finding ways to help them adapt to new funding paradigms, while allowing them to thrive in the vital roles they play in shaping their fields of research.


In short… There is a lot at stake here, as we work with our partners to evolve research communication to make best use of the digital workflows now available. There is the need to protect all that is good that the systems and workflows that currently underpin research communications offer, by helping to establish trust, truth, quality, integrity and to realise impact. But there is also a need to come to terms with the fact that the time has come for change to enable everyone to make use of all the work of researchers, so that it serves a greater purpose: in short, to amplify and democratise knowledge.


Leon Heward-Mills is managing director of researcher services at Taylor & Francis; Rebecca Lawrence is managing director of F1000 Research


April/May 2020 Research Information 21


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