Interview


underrepresented groups in our own workforce, as well as in the author-, customer-, supplier-bases we serve, and with whom we interact. Our newly- formed DEI committee at AIP Publishing is currently developing its strategy for outreach and training, and will be ready to communicate organisation-wide plans by the end of the summer. We have been focusing in great depth on DEI and on culture and organisational strategy. We are actively working to bring the principles and priorities of all these tracks together. Ensuring open, equitable, inclusive and global approaches in all that we do features prominently in our discussions. At AIP Publishing we believe it is crucial we embrace this as an intrinsic value of who we are as an organisation, creating a safe space that allows us to hear, listen to and respond to the voices of underrepresented colleagues. Many a case has been made for the


need to cultivate authors and research communities while they are still working on their projects, providing repositories, pre-print servers and content platforms for researchers to store their ‘not-yet- ready’ or pre-publication work, which could then become a source of high- quality content when it is time for rigorous peer review. A shift in focus comes into play for metrics as well: author/article-level metrics compared with journal-level metrics, for instance. In addition, the speed of publication, the support mechanisms in place, and the administrative burden of paying for services will all define how customers assess a publisher’s value. The key challenge lies at the confluence of all these factors: infrastructure, authors, readers and analytics that will help authors assess the value of the services they receive, and readers the quality of the content on offer. In parallel, the pandemic has left many people struggling in its wake, and coupled with the murder of George Floyd last summer, has shone an unrelenting light on systemic inequities in our society. Our own industry has not escaped the glare. Our workforce is not demographically reflective of the wider population, and our leadership does not reflect the demographic breakdown of its workforce. It is important that we work to


deliver more equitable outcomes in compensation and opportunities for career advancement for


www.researchinformation.info | @researchinfo


requirement of diversity, equity and inclusion in the global workforce from legal, ethical and business perspectives. Alix Vance, CEO at AIP Publishing, articulates a succinct call to action when she says: ‘We do not promote DEI because it conveys business benefits (although it does), we do so because it is imperative to our humanity and connectedness. We look forward to being recognised as an organisation that leans forward and reaches further to promote equity, and as one that welcomes all conversations that help us understand and respond to the diverse perspectives of our colleagues and community.


‘It’s an indulgence to live just across the river from the treasure of arts and culture that is New York City’


‘This is true for us and our parent


organisation AIP. Together we are committed to advancing new, forward- looking and more inclusive initiatives for the broader physical sciences community.’ US Vice President Kamala Harris has noted President Joe Biden ‘had the audacity’ to select her, a woman of colour, as his running mate. To advance representation in our industry we need to be able to emulate that courage, to allow us to advocate for, sponsor and invest in colleagues from underrepresented groups to give them the opportunities and


support they need to lead our industry to a progressive future.


Fast-forward 10 years – how do you think the industry will have changed? One of the lessons of the pandemic has been the need for remote access to data, information and systems. Technologies and business models that improve global accessibility will continue to define the publishing landscape and its success. The next 10 years will see a concerted move to open research, as the industry seeks to deliver transparency, reproducibility and reusability in how research is conducted, reported and accessed. In addition, emerging machine learning


technologies that provide copy-editing and language editing services for authors will be more prevalent, freeing publishers to deliver more focused resources for a global base of authors and readers. We will continue to focus on


opportunities for partnering with colleagues in China and will also look for opportunities in emerging regions such as India and tropical Africa: currently we have relatively limited interaction with Africa outside of its more temperate climate zones.


Our success will be determined by


how effectively we can respond to and embrace those changes.


Do you have any hobbies or interests you want to tell us about? Since 2019, I have served on the board of my local Shelter that provides food and housing for our guests who need those services, where I chair its development committee. In recent years I have managed to


combine my affinity for long walks with an interest in fundraising: for breast cancer charities, first with Avon (walking 39.3 miles over two days) and most recently with Susan G Komen, walking 60 miles over three days. All events were in California: Santa Barbara and San Diego, with beautiful scenery, wonderful weather and supportive crowds, making each venture an inspiring, exhilarating experience.


It’s an indulgence to live just across


the river from the treasure of arts and culture that is New York City. Bereft of my favourite haunts during the Covid lockdown, I took advantage of the time to hone my skills in gluten-free baking. Now, whether or not that whole concept is counter-intuitive is a topic for an entirely different conversation!


Interview by Tim Gillett


August/September 2021 Research Information 27


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36