A brief introduction to university research commercialization

In 1980, the Bayh–Dole Act was passed by the United States federal government, permitting the universities and non-profit organizations to retain title to inventions made with federal funding and to license it to others. This act promoted research commercialization by giving these entities the ability to profit from their innovations and encouraged private investment in research. In response, many universities in the USA set up technology transfer offices (TTOs), or technology licensing offices (TLOs) to manage their intellectual property (IP) and promote effective technology commercialization. Since then, the Bayh–Dole model has spread to universities and institutes worldwide, particularly in the Global North.

How can universities support patenting?

Setting up a technology transfer office

An effective TTO/TLO is vital to any patenting strategy. These offices not only manage the transfer of technology from universities and research institutions to the private sector, but also provide vital guidance for the institution and research personnel to realize effective patent commercialization. Furthermore, they also handle legal matters concerning IP, including patent applications, litigation, and transferring royalties to the parties concerned.

Royalty sharing

Royalty sharing between universities and researchers stimulates innovation by financially incentivizing research. Royalty sharing initiatives allow researchers to pursue commercially relevant research. Furthermore, royalty sharing can increase collaboration, as the promise of sharing royalties may make researchers more willing to share ideas, since they will all benefit from any commercial success. Finally, royalty sharing can encourage researchers to seek more patent protection, such as applying for international patents to maximize their commercial potential. In short, royalty sharing is an obvious win-win that should be part of any patenting strategy.

Establishing a university startup incubator

Technology startups provide lucrative opportunities to commercialize cutting-edge research findings. Harvard University, for one, has an impressive roster of startups that harness innovations from a range of scientific fields. While we all dream of investing in “the next big thing,” establishing a patenting culture can form part of a broader commercialization strategy to spin off companies that realize groundbreaking new services and products. Founding an incubator is a large undertaking that requires planning and strategy, so research is key. The article “So, you want to start a startup incubator or accelerator?,” penned by a student who successfully launched his own startup incubator, provides some interesting reading.

Build awareness of patenting

An informal survey published in Forbes in 2012 yielded surprising results. Among 60 graduate engineering students at UCLA, 68% could not answer the question, “what is a trade secret?” Meanwhile, 21%, 32%, and 51% were unable to provide an answer to what patents, copyrights, and trademarks are, respectively.

While this small survey is probably not representative, it’s nonetheless surprising that these students had little awareness of IP and why it is relevant to their own work. If researchers do not understand these concepts, they may struggle to understand what is patentable and fail to disclose such discoveries at a critical time.

Fortunately, the World Intellectual Property Organization has provided many resources on raising awareness of IP. While many of these resources are aimed at school-age children, this page also provides a six-step plan for building an awareness strategy and numerous examples of campaigns.

See also: Crafting a Patent Communication Strategy: Tips for Universities

Examples of patenting done right

India

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have had considerable success in commercializing their research and protecting their IP. One such example is IIT Bombay, which has successfully licensed technologies through its TTO and established close industry relationships. Institutional support for technology transfer, strong industry connections, government support and developed alumni networks have allowed IITs to be successful in commercializing their research and protecting their IP.

See also: Patents and the Intellectual Property Rights Ecosystem at Indian Universities

Japan

The University of Tokyo, better known as Todai in Japan, has a history of successful patenting, including in biotechnology, information technology, and materials science. In recent years, Todai publishes an average of 600 patents annually and has successfully launched major investment funds to capitalize on Todai-affiliated spinoffs, such as Citadel AI. Likewise, the University of Kyoto has similar initiatives for their range of patents. Overall, Japan’s public universities have a proven track record of successful patenting and robust commercialization strategies.

South Korea

In the 20^th century, South Korea transitioned from a developing country to a global leader for innovation, recently being recognized as East Asia’s leading innovator ahead of Japan and China. One detailed analysis of technology transfer in Korean public institutions found that successful technology transfer relies more on promoting application research by offering incentives for patent registration and increasing support for researchers’ startups. These strategies have been successfully applied at Seoul National University (SNU), Korea’s most reputable university, which has a strong focus on technology transfer and has established successful high-tech startups at the SNU Campus Town with the help of the SNU Entrepreneurship Center. The university’s Research & Development Board Foundation has overseen successful commercialization of technologies with generous revenue sharing incentives.

Conclusion

A solid patenting strategy can be profitable for institutions and researchers, stimulate basic and applied research, launch new business ventures, and improve your institution’s reputation. In short, an effective patenting culture can benefit all involved.

Learn strategies to promote awareness of patenting in your university and to spur innovation through patents. Download this whitepaper.

The post How universities can develop a patenting culture appeared first on CACTUS.

Here, we will explore some best practices that publishers can adopt to streamline the OA publication process, with examples of how publishers are implementing innovative solutions to enhance author services.

See also: Five Ways Academic Journals and Publishers Can Improve Author Experience

1. Give clear submission and pre-submission guidelines

Dealing with multiple, conflicting requirements from journals can be difficult. Publishers should provide clear, concise, and consistent guidelines that cover all aspects of the submission process, such as manuscript formatting, referencing style, data availability, ethical compliance, and conflict of interest disclosure. Offering template files in common formats, such as Word and LaTeX, with comments on how to prepare the file is a simple way to facilitate submissions. MDPI offers branded templates with plenty of guidance for each of their journals.

Some authors prefer to leave journal formatting to an editing service. Publishers such as Elsevier are offering in-house or outsourced pre-submission services, such as language editing, plagiarism checking, and technical support to help authors prepare their manuscripts for submission.

2. Appropriately communicate about the peer review timeline and process

Peer review is a crucial component of academic publishing. However, it is also a source of anxiety and uncertainty for authors, who may not know how long it will take, what criteria will be used, or how to respond to reviewers’ comments.

To address these concerns, publishers can clearly explain the peer review process, by informing authors upfront about the expected duration of peer review, the number and qualifications of reviewers, peer review style (e.g., single-blind, double-blind, or open), and the possible outcomes (e.g., accept, reject, or revise). Publishers can also use technology to facilitate peer review, including online submission systems like ScholarOne, which can help both reviewers and authors communicate in a timely, hassle-free manner.

See also: Using ChatGPT for Peer Review: A Snapshot of Views

3. Establish quick communication channels for authors

Authors may have questions on their submission status, peer review feedback, publication fees, or post-publication issues. It is important that authors can easily contact the editorial team and receive timely and helpful responses, including through web forms and direct email.

While they are unlikely to replace humans in high-level decision-making, AI chatbots are becoming a useful way of answering simple requests and routing complex queries to the appropriate team.

See also: Five Components Every Publisher Should Include in Their Peer Reviewer Training Models

4. Be transparent about publication fees and funding options

Publication fees are a common barrier for authors who want to publish in OA journals, especially those from low- and middle-income countries. Authors may not be aware of the fees involved or may not be able to afford them. Moreover, some journals may have hidden or variable fees that can surprise or discourage authors. This can lead to authors seeking out alternatives, including non-OA publishing.

Thus, publishers need to disclose all publication fees upfront and make them consistent with comparable journals. Publishers can also offer waivers or discounts for authors who cannot pay or who belong to underrepresented groups. As one example, Oxford University Press offers both developing country waivers and discretionary waivers across all their OA publications. Additionally, publishers can provide guidance on how to find and apply for funding sources for OA publishing, such as grants, institutional memberships, or sponsorships.

See also: Converting Subscription-Based Journals to Open Access: A Handy Guide to the “Subscribe To Open” Model

5. Offer rapid online-first publication

Online-first publication means that accepted articles are published online with a unique digital object identifier (DOI) before they are assigned to a journal issue or volume. This allows authors to disseminate their work faster and reach a wider audience. Online-first publication also benefits publishers by increasing their citation rates and visibility.

To implement online-first publication, publishers can optimize their production workflow to reduce the time between acceptance and online publication. This means ensuring that articles are automatically properly indexed and searchable by major databases with persistent links.

6. Make copyright and licensing management easy

Copyright and licensing are essential aspects of OA publishing, as they determine how authors and users can share and reuse the work. However, navigating these legal topics can be confusing for authors, who may not know their rights and responsibilities or how to choose the best option for their work.

To simplify this process, publishers can offer clear and standardized copyright and licensing policies that allow authors to retain ownership and easily grant users permission to use the contents under certain conditions. Creative Commons licenses are well recognized and make it easy for publishers and authors to choose the most appropriate license. Finally, publishers can display the license information prominently on each article. The OA giant Frontiers includes a license statement with explanations of what it implies with each article.

7. Author-Focused Promotion and Visibility

Promotion and visibility are vital for OA articles, which have to compete for attention in an increasingly crowded landscape. However, this can be challenging for authors, who may lack the time, skills, or resources to market their work effectively.

Thus, publishers need to offer guidance for authors on how to promote their research, such as using Mendeley, academic profiles, or conventional social networking sites to drive traffic. Elsevier provides a good, concise page with many links to appropriate tools and articles. Additionally, publishers can offer social media posts, podcasts, or videos to highlight the key findings and implications of articles, which can make a publisher more attractive as an option.

See also: Making Research Both Available and Accessible: Going Beyond Open Access

8. Provide post-publication support

Post-publication support comprises the various services that publishers can offer after their work is published.

Citation metrics are useful for authors who wish to understand the impact of their work. Several companies, such as CrossRef and Altmetric, offer metrics including citation numbers and more holistic bibliography to measure research impact. There are also regional and national initiatives, such as the Korean Citation Index, which offers a suite of analytical tools used by several publishers.

Publishers should also have clear and consistent policies and procedures for handling corrections or retractions, and inform authors of any changes to their articles through automated email systems.

Publishers may also wish to enable and moderate the comments or feedback section on articles and encourage authors to engage with their readers, which has been implemented by PLOS.

9. Welcome feedback

Author feedback can help publishers improve their services and meet the needs of their authors. Soliciting feedback can also foster trust and loyalty between publishers and authors, aiding the credibility of OA journals.

Publishers can conduct regular surveys using various free and paid services such as Microsoft Forms or SurveyMonkey to streamline the feedback and analysis processes. Naturally, publishers need to analyze and act on their feedback and communicate the results and actions taken to the authors.

 See also: Working with Researchers for Open Access Publishing: Industry Experts from Brill Share Their Experiences

Conclusion

Streamlining OA publication can help make it more attractive to authors, aiding the growth of your journal. By adopting these best practices, publishers can provide a seamless and satisfying OA publication experience for authors, contributing to the advancement of knowledge and science.

The post Streamlining the Open Access Publication Process: 9 Ways Research Publishers Can Support Authors appeared first on CACTUS.

Here, I will discuss some of the key benefits and challenges of content marketing for academic publishers and provide some best practices and examples to help you craft and implement an effective content marketing strategy.

Why content marketing matters for academic publishers

Academic publishing has never been more competitive and dynamic than right now, with even giant publishers wondering how to overcome the many challenges such as declining library budgets, changing user behavior, increasing open access mandates, and growing competition. To stand out from the crowd and build long-term relationships with their customers, academic publishers need to adopt a customer-centric approach that focuses on delivering value beyond their core products and services.

How a content marketing strategy can help academic publishers

Meet the needs of researchers and other stakeholders

Content marketing allows academic publishers to create and share content that addresses the career challenges, daily concerns, and interests of their target audience. Many researchers want to maximize the impact of their research, and often grapple with difficult questions such as how to conduct research effectively, how to publish in high-impact journals, how to secure funding, or how to manage research data. By providing useful and relevant information that helps their customers solve problems or achieve goals, academic publishers can demonstrate their understanding of their customers’ needs and build trust and loyalty.

As one example, Elsevier offers Elsevier Connect, a portal with a great deal of information relevant to researchers and other stakeholders. Their offerings include news, opinion pieces, and practical guides that address the key issues and questions that the research community faces.

Establish thought leadership

A thought leader is an individual or firm recognized as an authority in a specific field, who presents innovative ideas to influence others. Establishing thought leadership is already becoming an important consideration in higher education. Content marketing enables academic publishers to showcase their authority and credibility in their field by curating high-quality content that reflects their editorial standards and vision. By sharing insights, opinions, trends, and best practices on topics related to their discipline or industry, academic publishers can position themselves as thought leaders who not only inform, but influence and inspire their audience.

While the term “thought leader” is often applied to individuals, many major publishers are also acting as thought-leading organizations by amplifying voices within academia through new media channels. One example is the way that Nature Publishing Group has brought attention to many social issues in science with their Nature Careers Podcast or their extensive offering of opinion pieces on the problems that the world faces today.

Harnessing the power of open access

Open access publishing has challenged the old publishing paradigm and the push toward open access shows no signs of abating. Content marketing can help academic publishers leverage the opportunities offered by the growth of open access. Open access content may increase the reach and visibility of published content, as it can be accessed by anyone without barriers or restrictions. Moreover, non-restrictive open access licenses can generate more engagement and interaction from the audience, as their contents can be easily adapted and shared by other researchers or platforms.

As one example, Frontiers has been one of the major forces driving the open access movement, becoming one of the world’s most-cited publishers overall. They have made the most of this position by drawing attention to open access policy, which they have even made the topic of their most recent Frontiers Forum.

How to measure and analyze content marketing success

Content marketing is not a one-off activity, but a continuous process that requires planning, execution, evaluation, and improvement. To ensure that content marketing efforts are effective and aligned with organizational goals, it is crucial for research publishers to measure and analyze their content marketing performance using various tools and platforms, perhaps as part of a structured planning strategy like an OODA loop. Some of the key metrics to consider and how they may guide your actions include:

Traffic. How many people visit your website or platform? Is it coming from organic searches, social media, or other links? Do your readers tend to use desktop or mobile devices? Which countries are they accessing from? By assessing this, you can better target neglected markets within your field and assess how successfully you are making impressions.

Engagement. How much do people interact with the content? How long they spend on the page or platform? How many pages do they view per session? How many comments, likes, and shares do they leave? By understanding what gets the most engagement, you can tailor your content to maximize returns.

Conversion. Are your viewers taking the action that you desire, such as subscribing to a newsletter or blog, downloading a white paper or report, or registering for a webinar or event? Conversion rates allow you both to offer more relevant targets and to assess the efficacy of how you promote these targets.

Retention. What are the bounce and churn rates (percentage of visitors who leave after viewing only one page or who stop using a product or service, respectively)? How many customers remain active within a given period? By eliminating common factors that affect retention, such as slow page loading times or intrusive advertisements, you can boost retention and improve chances of conversions.

Impact. What is the impact of your content marketing on revenue, return on investment (ROI), and customer lifetime value? Looking at how your content marketing activities affect these metrics can help you further optimize to maximize impact metrics.

There are various tools and platforms that can help academic publishers measure and analyze these metrics. Google Analytics is free and offers powerful and simple-to-implement monitoring of traffic and engagement. HubSpot offers an extensive suite of tools for content marketing and measuring or improving conversion and retention. Finally, Altmetric is research-specific and can be used to see where the research you publish is making an impact.

Conclusion

Content marketing helps academic publishers connect with their target audience and deliver value beyond their core products and services, or even maximize the impact of their core offerings. By creating and distributing relevant content that meets the needs of the scholarly community, academic publishers can establish thought leadership and ultimately drive profitable customer action. Using the many analytic tools available on the market, publishers can react to changing trends and create bespoke strategies to offer better and more relevant content.

The post Content Marketing in Research Publishing: An Introduction appeared first on CACTUS.

See also: A Spotlight on Progress in DEIA Efforts by Research Societies

Importance of amplifying Indigenous voices in academia

Indigenous peoples are far from monolithic, but many groups have a common history of being marginalized, oppressed, and silenced by colonialism and its legacy. Their knowledge and perspectives have often been dismissed or appropriated by dominant Western or other imperial paradigms, resulting in a lack of representation of Indigenous peoples and respect for their contributions to various fields.

Indigenous peoples have often been investigated in fields such as linguistics, anthropology, and ethnobotany, but this has often been as subjects. Nowadays, more people from Indigenous communities participate actively in research, but their contributions are too often not properly credited properly in studies; part of a problem referred to as “helicopter research.”

Amplifying Indigenous voices in academia is not only a matter of justice and equity, but also a matter of quality and relevance. Indigenous scholars bring valuable insights and solutions to address complex and urgent issues that affect us all, including how to educate others. Their research reflects their values and worldviews, which can challenge and even transform the dominant modes of thinking.

Promoting Indigenous voices in academia can foster more inclusive academic communities that respect different forms of knowledge. We can also create more opportunities for collaboration, and mutual learning between Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars, as well as between academia and Indigenous communities.

See also: Breaking Down Barriers: How and Why Research Societies and Publishers Are Embracing Cultural Diversity

Guidelines to follow when communicating research on indigenous peoples

Academic journals and publishers are critical to the dissemination of knowledge. Therefore, they are responsible for ensuring that communication practices are ethical and culturally appropriate.

Publishers must assure that appropriate language is used. This can be done by creating guidelines on language usage with a comprehensive list of stigmatizing or inaccurate terms that should be avoided. Consulting existing style books can be helpful.

While paper authors are often given primacy over the data they present in their manuscripts, it is important to recognize the rights and interests of Indigenous peoples over their knowledge, data, and cultural expressions. Thus, proper acknowledgment and authorship should be offered, and appropriate policies to ensure these rules are followed should be put in place. The CONSIDER statement is a 17-point checklist of guidelines addressing how to report studies on indigenous peoples.

Journals should also encourage and support the submission of manuscripts by Indigenous authors or co-authors, as well as manuscripts that use Indigenous languages. Another valuable way of supporting and including Indigenous scholars is by including citation guidelines for communication from Indigenous knowledge keepers.

Finally, publishers should ensure that Indigenous communities have access to research that concerns them or which they have participated in. Rather than paywalling articles on Indigenous peoples, putting in place an open access policy and appropriately indexing papers can allow Indigenous peoples to reap the benefits of research conducted on their communities.

Disseminating of indigenous knowledge fairly

When Indigenous people share their knowledge, they should expect reciprocity and positive relationships from those disseminating it. Therefore, academic journals and publishers must respect the cultural values, protocols, and preferences of Indigenous peoples.

Indigenous authors or communities should be consulted on how they want their knowledge to be disseminated, who they want to reach, and what impact they want to achieve. The protocols and taboos of Indigenous peoples should be respected at all stages of this process. For example, some Indigenous communities like the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have specific restrictions on reproducing the names and photographs of deceased persons (which Australian journalists, documentary makers, and media are required to follow).

After an article is published, journals or publishers can work with authors to seek feedback from and engage in dialogue with communities about the outcomes and implications of the research. This will help ensure they remain involved in the ongoing conversations about and implications of their traditional knowledge.

Besides traditional journal articles, supporting the development of alternative or complementary platforms or formats, such as podcasts, videos, websites or oral presentations, can help Indigenous knowledge to be communicated more effectively to wider audiences.

Incorporating indigenous perspectives in peer review

Peer review is key to ensuring that academic research is valid and properly presented. However, peer review processes are often influenced by dominant Western norms, standards and expectations that may not be appropriate or relevant for evaluating research on Indigenous peoples. Therefore, academic journals and publishers should incorporate Indigenous perspectives in their peer review. How this should be done remains debated, but research has been conducted on this issue. Some ideas include:

• Invite Indigenous scholars or experts as reviewers or editors who can provide constructive feedback and guidance on the publication. However, it is important to understand the community’s capacity and not overburden them with excessive requests for their time.
• Include a community involvement statement or a validation of community approval.
• Encourage and facilitate dialogue, negotiation and consensus-building between Indigenous communities and stakeholders to address any issues, concerns or disagreements that may arise during the peer review process.
• Provide feedback and recognition to reviewers and editors for their contribution and expertise in reviewing research on Indigenous peoples.
• Let Indigenous communities or organizations determine their own involvement in the process to avoid false representation or tokenism.

Journals and publishers of note

The International Indigenous Policy Journal (IIPJ)

IIPJ is an online, peer-reviewed journal that publishes original research and policy analysis on Indigenous issues from a multidisciplinary perspective. The journal aims to provide a forum for Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars, practitioners, and community members to share their knowledge to support evidence-based policy making. IIPJ shared the draft of the Aboriginal chapter of the Tri-Council Policy Statement, which is Canada’s main set of guidelines for ethical research on humans.

AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples

AlterNative is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal that publishes research on Indigenous peoples. The journal seeks to “present scholarly research on Indigenous worldviews and experiences of decolonization from Indigenous perspectives from around the world”. AlterNative also has a diverse editorial board of Indigenous or non-Indigenous scholars from various countries and clear guidelines on ethically reporting on Indigenous peoples.

Routledge Studies in Indigenous Peoples and Policy

Routledge, a global publisher of academic books focusing mainly on the humanities and social sciences, has recently began publishing a series of multidisciplinary books on Indigenous studies edited by esteemed academics Jerry P. White and Susan Wingert.

Conclusion

Communicating research on Indigenous peoples requires careful consideration and respect. Academic journals and publishers have a key role and responsibility in ensuring that their practices are culturally appropriate and ethical when publishing and disseminating research on Indigenous peoples. By doing so, they can contribute to amplifying Indigenous voices in academia and promoting the fair and equitable dissemination of Indigenous knowledge.

The post Communicating research on indigenous peoples: The role of journals and publishers appeared first on CACTUS.

However, a “build it and they will come” strategy is not a sure winner in the crowded social media marketplace, where each account is jockeying for the limited attention of users. Furthermore, since your social media presence will often be the first place the public will encounter your organization, it is vital to ensure that the image of your organization presented on social media is congruent with your organizational goals.

Staying competitive in the digital age: Why publishers and societies need a social media strategy

 For publishers and societies, a strong social media presence can drive engagement, build brand awareness, and increase reach. In this section, we explore why having a social media strategy is crucial for these organizations.

To reach new audiences

A key goal of scholarly societies and publishers is promoting their field of research. By leveraging social media platforms, societies and publishers can engage with a wider demographic of individuals who may be interested in their research or publications. Through targeted content creation, such as sharing research highlights, news, and educational content, research societies and publishers can capture the attention of these individuals. Social media also provides opportunities for organic or paid promotion, enabling these brands to amplify their reach and engage with users beyond their existing followers. Additionally, social media can facilitate collaborations with influencers, industry experts, or other organizations, leading to cross-promotion and exposure to new audiences.

To drive engagement with research

It’s becoming difficult to count just how many scholarly papers are published each year, but it remains true that most will receive very few citations in the increasingly crowded information marketplace. A social media strategy can help overlooked publications become known to the wider research community. Social media allows for a variety of rich content formats, such as infographics and videos, which can make a research study accessible and engaging to a wide variety of audiences, including laypersons and researchers in other fields.

To understand trends in your audience and research

Social media is not just about putting out your voice; it’s also about taking input from your audience. Audience engagement trends, comments, and messages from readers can all guide you towards understanding the content they would like to see, allowing you to formulate new plans to meet current trends and get the best return on your invested time.

To create a sense of community for your brand

Social media can foster a vibrant community for research societies or research publishers by providing a platform for engagement, networking, and knowledge sharing. Through social media, these brands can share updates on their latest research findings, upcoming events, and publications, creating a sense of excitement and community among their followers. Moreover, social media enables research societies and publishers to highlight the achievements of their members, acknowledge their contributions, and celebrate milestones, building a sense of pride and loyalty within the community.

See also: The Importance of Storytelling in Brand Building for Research Societies

Creating a strategy that is aligned with your goals

Define your goals

Project management professionals are familiar with the mnemonic SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) at some point. As a society or publisher too, it is vital to ensure that your social media goals are SMART and that each parameter has been clearly defined before moving forward. This includes ensuring that your posts are congruent with your brand image and long-term goals. For instance, if the overall organizational goal is to increase brand awareness, your social media goal could be to increase the number of your followers on X platform by a certain percentage over Y time period.

Select relevant channels

Facebook might be a great platform for much of the world, but it is banned in China. In China WeChat is the indisputable king of social media applications; meanwhile, it is rarely used outside of China and overseas Chinese communities. The topic of selecting a platform is too large to cover in depth here, but it is crucial to decide your target demographic(s) and then decide the platform that best captures their attention.

See also: What Twitter’s Newly Revealed Algorithm Means for Your Online Presence

Develop a content strategy

A distinct strategy for content is vital. It outlines what content you will post, why it will be posted, and how it will be created and distributed. This strategy will serve as the roadmap for executing your social media campaigns.

Engage with the audience

Responding proactively to audience engagement can provide a positive feedback loop, wherein your positive reactions to their comments can drive further engagements, making it more likely that the audience will return. This greater engagement helps you achieve your goals by allowing your audience to speak up and provide with you with more information on their preferences, thus allowing you to better target their peers.

Monitor and re-evaluate

Virtually all social media platforms have a dashboard for checking your metrics, including impressions, engagements, and conversions. Even better, there are dashboard platforms that allow you to coordinate campaigns across multiple platforms. Using these tools can help you understand where your efforts are making the most impact. For example, if you notice that engagements for video content are much higher than those for your articles, it may be worth revising the content strategy to better meet audience needs.

Five social media goals for societies and publishers

As mentioned before, goals are crucial. Here are five goals that can be applied in a SMART manner and easily monitored using the built-in metrics from social media platforms.

Raise brand awareness

Raising brand awareness is all about impressions. By providing easy, shareable content with your branding, more people can become aware of your brand, even if they do not directly engage.

Drive website traffic and improve engagement with content on your homepage

Research societies and publishers need to drive website traffic to increase engagement, expand their online presence, and ultimately promote their research findings or publications to a wider audience. To drive website traffic and increase engagement with your homepage content through social media, you can provide links to your most important articles, courses, events and more along with attractive images and copy. You can measure the impact by checking your click-through rates and use those insights to guide future changes.

Generate leads

By creating compelling content, offering valuable resources, and utilizing lead generation forms or landing pages, you can generate potential leads. You can also engage in direct interactions with users, conduct surveys or polls, and utilize social media advertising to capture user information.

Increase mailing list signups

A mailing list might be old technology, but it remains an effective way of drawing attention to events, seminars, and important articles. By including a mailing list with engaging content, you can directly contact your audience and measure the impact from conversions.

Create a partnership with another organization or thought influencer

Publishers and societies often have overlapping interests with other organizations, such as research societies that serve different countries. Reciprocally sharing each other’s posts can mutually increase your traffic and overall audience size, especially when they are indeed congruent with the values of your organization. Likewise, influencers can provide great opportunities to boost your traffic, provided that such partnerships are carefully considered. These partners can also share their insights and provide clues on how best to engage with audiences.

The post From Goals to Execution: How Research Publishers and Societies Can Align Social Media and Organizational  Goals appeared first on CACTUS.

Despite the increasingly monolingual nature of scientific reporting, the world remains multilingual. Many languages have millions of native speakers, yet very few available publications are ever translated, creating a substantial knowledge gap. A multilingual approach can greatly boost audiences and create a more equitable flow of information with less bias towards native English speakers.

The multilingual advantage for research societies

Academic societies exist to promote their fields and support researchers therein. As such, using multiple languages can greatly increase their audiences, help them meet their goals more effectively. Indeed, many have recognized this need and are offering more multilingual materials than ever.

While researchers around the world would appreciate materials in dozens of languages, translation is a time- and resource-intensive process. Before any multilingual initiative, it is worthwhile for an academic society to research the current landscape of information for target languages and identify gaps in currently offered resources. Additionally, societies will benefit more from targeting large countries such as China (home to more researchers than even the US), or languages that are shared by many countries, such as Arabic, French, or Spanish.

What research societies offer

Translated versions of society journals

Creating an entire new edition of each journal issue in another language would be prohibitively expensive. However, offering digest versions for international audiences can greatly cut these costs. For instance, select articles from Gastroenterology are printed in a Spanish-language quarterly digest. Furthermore, a society can select different strategies depending on the language; Gastroenterology is compiled with Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology into a single quarterly Japanese-language digest.

Digests can also include abstracts and other content unique for the target language or geographical area, further improving relevance for the audience.

Translated news and newsletters

Many journals have dedicated news sites, which can be great for reaching new audiences, as news articles are both shorter and more layperson-friendly than traditional academic papers. Furthermore, these articles can be distributed as email newsletters, which also have the benefit of “teasing” the audience with information to draw in traffic to your website.

One example of this is Chemical & Engineering News, the news site for the American Chemical Society (ACS). This site is now offered in four additional languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and Arabic, providing impressive coverage for billions of non-English speakers. Much like digests, these international versions also have the opportunity of providing tailored content.

See also: How Societies Are Engaging with and Supporting Science Educators

Multilingual videos

Videos are increasingly popular online, not only for entertainment but also education. Younger people increasingly prefer video for their online media. Videos are also “shareable,” which fits well with strategies to improve awareness of societies and their work.

Translating existing content can affordably help you reach new audiences. YouTube also supports user-submitted translations of content, which allows volunteers to broaden the scope of languages on offer. The Royal Institution offers subtitled versions of some of its well-known videos.

Publishing multilingual video abstracts, as the American Gastroenterology Association has done, is an excellent way of expanding your scope of video content and providing researchers with a new avenue to make their research known.

Multilingual learning materials

Societies have increasingly produced many learning materials for many audiences, ranging from children to professionals. Translated versions of these materials are an affordable way of expanding audience reach and awareness outside of your traditional range. Some successful examples include Spanish-language education materials offered by the ACS or American Phytopathological Society.

See also: Creating Inclusive Learning Resources: Tips for Societies and Publishers

Conclusion

While English will remain the leading language for science for the foreseeable future, a multilingual strategy can broaden your audience and address gaps in academic contributions between native English speakers and everybody else. Offering multilingual resources is a great opportunity for societies to fulfil their core mission of promoting their field worldwide.

The post How Societies are Contributing to Multilingual Science appeared first on CACTUS.

Why are societies and publishers creating educational content?

At first, it isn’t obvious why a society or academic publisher would create educational content, particularly for K-12 schools. After all, these organizations are not schools themselves. However, when we consider that societies and publishers have the respective goals of promoting the development of a research field and providing information to large audiences, it becomes clear that guiding the learning of future generations of academics is very much in their interest. Producing teaching materials not only benefits the public, but also the entities producing them. Producing materials such as worksheets or videos with your branding is great for increasing brand awareness and driving traffic.

Furthermore, ongoing professional education is vital, particularly in our age of rapid technological development. All too often, researchers lack the requisite skills to thrive outside of their usual academic environment. By meeting the needs of researchers through educational content, societies and publishers can also simultaneously strengthen their branding and diversify their revenue streams.

Key considerations in ensuring digital accessibility in learning

Cater for various Internet speeds

Ensure that those in developing countries have the same access as those in developed nations where the access to libraries, learning tools, and more are in abundant. For example, for researchers with low-speed or poor Internet connectivity, societies or publishers can offer opportunities to download livestreamed sessions/webinars (in low resolution).  

Adapting to different proficiency levels in English

Learners can differ in their proficiency in English, particularly those from underserved communities or countries where English is not widely spoken. Apart from making the language used in learning material simple and easy to follow, societies and publishers can also use various other tools to help ESL learners. For instance, providing subtitles and transcripts for videos makes it easy for learners to access the content without being fazed by accents or cadence of the speaker.

Accommodate disabilities

1. Learners with disabilities often struggle to meet academic targets if they are not given accommodations; accordingly, most institutions have dedicated special needs departments. Various disabilities can affect educational achievement in different ways. Here are some common categories of disabilities and how materials can be adjusted to meet the users’ needs.
2. Visual impairments, including partial or total blindness: Include large print versions of materials. Ensure that your website and documents are optimized for screen readers, including alt text for all images.
3. Auditory impairments, including deafness: Subtitle videos or other interactive content. Use easy, accessible English text for the d/Deaf community.
4. Language processing disorders: Provide the same text in a variety of formats (e.g., PDF printable, audio clip). This includes text related to instructions for any activities, quizzes, etc.

Finally, while it is wise to include depictions of people with disabilities in your materials, you should avoid common stereotypes.

Understand neurodiversity

Neurodiversity is also gaining attention in both education and professional settings. Accordingly, educational and professional development materials may need to be adapted. Here, we outline two important considerations in neurodiversity: dyslexia and ASD.

People with dyslexia experience challenges in reading. While special fonts to improve reading comprehension have been produced, evidence for their efficacy is poor. The British Dyslexia Association has produced an easy-to-follow style guide for producing materials suitable for people with dyslexia.

People with ASD often have sensory issues, particularly sensory overload when exposed to intense stimuli. Contrasting colors and busy backgrounds may look “fun”, but they can be distracting or even distressing to people with ASD.

Promote gender, cultural, and ethnic inclusivity

In some parts of the world, girls have little access to education, resulting in lifelong deficiencies. Additionally, there is a common perception that girls and women are less suited towards scientific pursuits and careers, which reinforces inequality between men and women in these fields. It is best to include both men and women in your materials and avoid depictions that rigidly stick to traditional gender norms.

We also recommend mentioning female pioneers within your field. For example, when teaching about computer science, Ada Lovelace and Grace Hopper deserve mention alongside figures like Alan Turing or Dennis Ritchie.

Traditionally, when publishers made teaching materials, they primarily or exclusively included people of the dominant ethnicity of their country. For example, it used to be common for all people in British teaching materials to be white and British, despite the growing Afro-Caribbean and South Asian communities. Ensuring that a range of ethnicities are included is vital to overall inclusion.

Examples of inclusive learning materials done right

Adventures in Chemistry by the American Chemical Society is a great resource that demonstrates excellent inclusivity. As well as including depictions of a diverse range of people, the materials therein are easily adaptable to various levels of educational attainment, making them very suitable to people with learning difficulties.

The Royal Society of Chemistry has a great range of resources for the classroom, and has specifically addressed inclusivity in scientific education curricula, including materials on women in science.

National Geographic provides a wide range of materials that promote a global perspective both for scientific and social issues that are covered.

Nature Masterclasses is an extensive platform offering professional development courses and materials for researchers across many fields. Of note, they have partnered with historically black colleges and universities in the United States to offer modules on improving equity for African diaspora researchers.

Do you have any other examples of inclusive teaching materials we have missed? Feel free to drop them in the comments below!

The post Creating Inclusive Learning Resources: Tips for Societies and Publishers appeared first on CACTUS.

This article describes the geographical differences in OA ecosystems and explains why societies and publishers need to pay attention to these differences while transitioning to an OA model. We present examples of both major industrialized economies and developing nations across the globe that are proactively encouraging OA.

United States—A giant step

The US is a huge net contributor to global scientific output and research funding, only recently being eclipsed by China. Likewise, many of the world’s leading research societies such as the American Chemical Society and prestigious journals like the New England Journal of Medicine are based out of the US. Thus, any changes in OA publishing in the US are likely to have a ripple effect in other economies.

In August 2022, the Biden administration issued a memorandum (the OSTP to all federal agencies with publicly funded research expenditures, calling for all data to be published without embargo by 2026. This decision signifies the most significant recognition of the need to change to open publishing to date in the US, and it has been supported by hundreds of organizations representing researchers, clinicians, and universities. While federally funded research is not the only research performed in the US, this top-down change may influence many other organizations.

See also: OSTP Mandate Will Increase Scholarly Society Focus on Author Services

Japan—Major commitment

As another leading economy, Japan remains one of the top contributors to global research expenditures, and it boasts an outsized contribution to Nobel Prize winners for the sciences. The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) is the body charged with implementing policies set by the Japanese Ministry of Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, which it coordinates in tandem with academic institutions and major businesses in Japan. One of its primary roles is as a funding body for research and development. In April 2022, JST announced that “Open Access should be applied to all research publications in principle. In particular, peer-reviewed research articles (including review papers, and conference papers that are accepted for publication in a conference proceeding) should be made openly available within 12 months…” Given the immense role that JST plays in publicly funded science in Japan, this decision will greatly affect the publication choices of many of Japan’s researchers. As part of this initiative, JST has also launched Jxiv, Japan’s own preprint server. While a forward-thinking measure, it has yet to be fully embraced by researchers. Nevertheless, JST has taken a leading role in ensuring openness.

Together with the USA, publicly funded research is clearly moving towards an OA-only model in the Global North.

India—A unified policy

India is a large and populous nation that has become a major contributor to research worldwide. India’s embrace of technology has been a major engine driving its overall development.

The government of India has been cognizant of the vast importance of access to information and has taken an unprecedented step to ensure that Indian citizens have access to all the published information they can receive. It has been dubbed the “One Nation, One Subscription” (ONOs) policy, and is expected to come into effect from April 2023. The ONOS concept was proposed in late 2020 as part of the Fifth National Science Technology and Innovation Policy of India. Under this proposed plan, all Indians will have access to the archives of major publishers, negotiated under a single payment by the Indian government. At present, researchers based in public institutions have access to a basic level of online resources through E-ShodhSindhu, an initiative by India’s Ministry of Education, with individual institutions purchasing further subscriptions for journals or publications that are not covered under E-ShodhSindu.

Compared to open initiatives that place the onus on researchers to publish their information openly, this initiative works with existing publishers to improve access overall. This is likely to be favorable to traditional publishers. India itself has had a complex history with publishers, as it has attracted criticism in the past for being permissive in terms of intellectual property. Further, India has become the venue for a major litigation between Elsevier and the repositories SciHub and Library Genesis, who have in turn received support from a number of Indian academics. Nevertheless, we can expect scientists in India to enjoy a greater level of free access even when journals publish under restrictive models.

South Africa—A model for the Global South

Africa is contributing greater amounts to research as its many nations develop. At the vanguard of these changes is South Africa, a leader both in governmental and grassroots initiatives to improve OA. As such, it has become a model for other nations in the Global South to follow. Researchers in South Africa have shown immense foresight in launching numerous publications and repositories to share their work openly.

OpenDOAR, the UK-based Directory of Open Access Repositories, has records for 50 repositories in South Africa, many of which have been founded by national universities or other research foundations, showing that there has been a remarkable grassroots desire to meet the need for OA. As such, it is vital for publishers and societies to recognize the role that researchers in South Africa have played in securing their own OA ecosystem.

East Africa—Strong multinational alliance

In May 2022, the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO), the Public Library of Science (PLOS), and the Training Centre in Communication (TCC Africa) announced a joint project of East African Community (EAC) partner states to advance OA in East Africa.

East Africa has enjoyed robust economic development, and as its development has continued, so too has East Africa’s contributions to science. Accordingly, EASTECO was founded to promote innovation in the East African region by supporting the development and commercialization of new technologies. Meanwhile, PLOS, best known for its journals such as PLOS ONE, has been at the forefront of OA publishing since its founding in 2001. Finally, TCC Africa is a non-profit that supports researchers by offering training in scholarly communication.

Together, this collaboration aims to promote OA in the region. As PLOS has become a major publisher in its own right, it is likely that researchers in EAC member nations will continue to build strong bonds with PLOS and other OA publishers.

Latin America—Strong grassroots collaboration

The Latin American OA ecosystem is an interesting case of grassroots collaboration. Latin America is unique as Spanish is a used as a lingua franca for research and because it contains a mix of developed and developing economies.

The Latin American system comprises numerous non-commercial repositories. One key difference is that publishing costs are funded by universities and other institutions, meaning that researchers in Latin America are not accustomed to paying the large publishing costs that many OA or hybrid publishers request. As such, publishers from the Global North may need to adjust their models to better coexist with the Latin American OA ecosystem.

Conclusions

There is an undeniable worldwide shift towards OA models. However, each geographical region offers unique challenges. It is vital for publishers moving to an OA model to consider geographical region when creating OA strategies. Lessons to take away include:

• Researchers from the Global South account for a growing proportion of submissions to research journals. These researchers value OA, as evidenced by their grassroots OA initiatives.
• Countries have proposed numerous conflicting solutions to improving OA in their own regions. There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach.
• OA publishing is often funded by researchers; however,  the costs involved mean that some regions have come up with their own initiatives.
• Both OA and traditional publishers have shown a lot of willingness to accommodate these new regional OA plans.

The post Geographical Differences in Open Access Ecosystems: Implications for Research Societies and Publishers appeared first on CACTUS.

• disseminating information about research advances,
• helping the general public to understand the value of research and to develop scientific literacy,
• and most importantly, building a strong and sustained pipeline of STEM talent.

Hence, for research societies, engaging with and supporting science educators are vital steps for promoting their own fields and achieving their missions.

Science educators and their needs

Perhaps the most obvious example of a science educator is a university lecturer or science teacher at a junior high or high school. However, these specialized teachers are far from the only science educators. In many countries, science education makes up the compulsory curricula of kindergartens, elementary or primary schools, and schools for students with special needs. Science educators range from people with doctorates in a scientific field to people with average knowledge. In any case, most science educators are not highly specialized, and will often look for support from published resources or various media to supplement their knowledge or become more effective and inspiring educators. Societies have the know-how and expertise to help these educators meet their goals. And by supporting science education and educators, societies benefit from larger, more diverse, and more passionate membership pools in the future as well as improved public image and public recognition of their work. 

How societies can support educators

• Training programs and online seminars

Ongoing professional development is part of every teacher’s life, and most institutions require educators to take refresher courses or policy training sessions on a semi-regular basis. Many societies have stepped in to offer such courses. Many of these courses are aimed at grade school teachers such as the PlantingScience program, which is supported by numerous societies and corporate sponsors. There are also courses aimed at university-level educators, such as the Teach The Teacher course by ESAIC. E-learning has made it easier than ever to set up such courses and reach an international audience with minimal costs.

• Content resources

Anybody with classroom experience can tell you that finding quality resources can be a real struggle. For teachers, developing resources about something outside of your specialty is often far too costly and time-consuming while juggling responsibilities both inside and outside the classroom.

Many societies have stepped up and offered their own resources. There are so many great resources now that I can hardly do them justice in this post. However, a few noteworthy examples include the fantastic array offered by the Royal Society of Chemistry and the ComPADRE Library, which was made in collaboration with societies like the American Physical Society.

• Educational events

As well as offering resources to help educators, societies can also work with educators to directly help students. Offering educational events such as science days can give kids fun, engaging activities to experience science for themselves in a new, exciting venue. Personally, I fondly remember attending a science day sponsored by a local college and GlaxoSmithKline when I was twelve. I really appreciated the chance to carry out “real” experiments in a big laboratory.

There have been many examples of successful events, but I would like to highlight the American Chemical Society’s National Chemistry Week (NCW) as a particularly great example. NCW events have been hosted across the United States, reaching millions of people. The NCW website offers extensive resources for educators to host their own events, and there have even been NCW events coordinated in Asia, Africa, and South America.

• Awards and recognition

Many teachers report feeling undervalued in society. Indeed, educators are scarcely mentioned in discussions of research policy, despite their fundamental role in training future generations of researchers. Highlighting the achievements of outstanding teachers is a great way of promoting your field and showing educators new ways to engage their students. The ExCEEd Teaching Award by the American Society of Civil Engineers or the numerous teaching awards offered by the American Chemical Society are great examples of how societies can recognize teachers in specific fields and hold them up as examples for other teachers to follow.

Tips for society leaders to support educators

• Collaborate to understand the needs of teachers and students

Teachers have varying needs and constraints, depending on their geographical location, funding, education, and social challenges. A great place to begin when increasing engagement with educators is to approach teachers’ associations for collaboration. There are thousands of associations for teachers, ranging from the National Education Association of the USA, which has over three million members, to smaller region- or subject-specific associations. Such associations can not only offer advice and let you know their underserved areas, but they can also serve as a vital go-between to get in touch with thousands of teachers.

• Use multimedia

Much has been said about using multimedia in classrooms or other education settings. Even Tiktok has gained attention for its ability to engage with young people and disseminate information on science.

The Royal Institution is a particularly great example of a society that has used multimedia effectively. Their annual Christmas Lectures are a national institution in the UK, and they maintain a very successful YouTube channel with engaging videos that boasts over a million subscribers.

However, there is one caveat to a multimedia-heavy approach—not all schools have the funding and know-how to implement digital projectors, interactive worksheets, and e-learning. To include these schools, it is worthwhile to include low-tech resources, such as printable activities or experiment ideas using household items.

• Create age-appropriate materials and activities

As mentioned before, even kindergarten teachers usually have some science education responsibilities. One of my earliest memories is studying the life cycle of frogs in nursery school, and this was one event that started my lifelong interest in biology.

When offering resources for science education, it makes sense to stratify your offerings by age groups. Scibermonkey by the Royal Society of Biology is a good example of an easy-to-use interface that allows educators to quickly access age-appropriate materials.

• Consider the ESL classroom

English is the lingua franca of research worldwide. Producing your materials in English, of course, makes the most sense. It’s also a fact that most people are not native English speakers. The proportion of English speakers who are non-native is continuously growing. English education is a major goal of many public education systems, as the ability to use English is increasingly vital for economic development, particularly in the Global South.

Furthermore, English classes are increasingly being used as a medium for teaching, and the rise of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has seen all subjects, including science, being integrated into ESL or EFL curricula. Societies can help their materials reach the largest audiences by offering their materials in simple, accessible English. Adding glossaries for terminology or offering translations can greatly help your resources become relevant to as many people as possible.

Conclusion

Supporting educators is a “win-win” for academic societies, educators, students, and research as a whole. By acting as stewards for education, societies can inspire future generations of researchers and more effectively realize their mission of promoting research for a better future.

The post How Societies are Engaging With and Supporting Science Educators appeared first on CACTUS.

See also: Open Access and Climate Research: Transformations in the Publication Landscape Over Time

Why academic publishers are key stakeholders in ensuring our sustainable future

When we think of industries who need to assess their sustainability, we often think of polluting industries like oil and gas, commercial agriculture, or large conglomerates that contribute to inequitable conditions in our world. The public usually doesn’t think of businesses from knowledge industries as being major players in our global transition to a sustainable model, as their activities contribute less to non-sustainable development.

However, the UN has singled out the vital role that publishers play with the SDG Publishers Compact. Academic publishers are vital to the dissemination of accurate, up-to-date information for researchers and policymakers. While academic publishers in fields such as ecology, earth science, and agriculture are naturally at the vanguard of providing information on sustainability, we cannot discredit the role of all other academic publishers. Sustainability relies on innovation and education, both of which are key areas of interest for any academic publication.

Furthermore, academic publications can reach broad audiences across many countries, and these publications can continue reaching new readers years after their original publication. Using our platforms to encourage others to think about sustainability is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss.

See also: Science for Peace and Development: How Research Societies Can Leverage Content in Advocacy Efforts

Academic publishers stepping up to the challenge

Major publishers are increasingly addressing their role in creating a sustainable future. Publishing giants such as Elsevier and SAGE Publishing have provided detailed and engaging presentations on how they are transitioning to a more sustainable model, while Taylor & Francis has reportedly become a carbon neutral publisher as of 2020. These changes mark an overall shift in the industry’s approach to sustainability.

5 steps publishers can take to be more sustainable

• Do away with paper

Many publications, both in academic and other spheres, have significantly cut down or eliminated their paper editions. While paper is renewable and recyclable, processing, transporting, and printing on it are all costly to the environment. As digital media is continuously growing across all fields, including academic publishing, phasing out or reducing the frequency of print editions can cut down emissions without alienating most readers.

• Print smarter

You don’t need to kill off your print edition to make a difference.

Traditionally, academic journals have been printed like other periodicals. Once edited and typeset, the edition is printed in a single run. As successive runs are more expensive, publishers of periodicals will usually print more than necessary in one run to ensure that the demand can be met.

Of course, this results in waste, and many copies are pulped without ever being read. Print-on-demand services harness the advantages of digital printing to provide only enough copies as customers order, ensuring minimal waste. This also provides opportunities for tailoring content according to customers.,

• Make your digital resources green

While the transition towards online publication has cut down the environmental burden from paper publishing, this hasn’t made publications carbon neutral. All digital activities incur a cost in terms of energy. Bloated websites require more processing power and demand greater bandwidth. This bloat has a measurable impact on energy consumption and thus, has an environmental impact.

There are more benefits towards streamlining your online publication. First, researchers in less economically developed countries tend to use older computers and slower internet connections, so cutting down on bloat can facilitate their access to your publication. Second, fast-loading webpages are preferred by search engines, which means cutting down your website’s code can improve your search engine performance. There are even tools that can help you estimate the environmental impact of your site.

• Environmentally friendly operations

Publishers usually operate from offices where heating, lighting, and air conditioning can significantly contribute to emissions. Purchasing more energy-efficient equipment and switching to a green energy provider can reduce your impact. Even simple actions like encouraging people to dress appropriately for the weather or can improve sustainability—the government of Japan has found that encouraging changes to business wear has substantially cut emissions across the country.

One silver lining of the pandemic was the adoption of teleworking by many companies that had always resisted such changes. Teleworking can cut operating costs, decrease emissions due to commuting, and improve employee satisfaction and productivity.

• Address SDGs in your publication

Even if your publication does not directly engage with any of the 17 SDGs, there is always some editorial scope to address these goals and provide relevant information on how academics can do their part to bring sustainable changes. This can range from including letters or editorials on improving sustainability within the field (e.g., best practices to cut down plastic waste in labs) to bringing in policy changes to improve equality and engagement with marginalized groups.

See also: How Openness in Science Can Drive Climate Justice: Views from Industry Experts at IntechOpen

Conclusion

Taking on the big issues, such as SDGs, can be challenging, yet publishers have already attempted to step up to these challenges. The SDG Publishers Compact provides simple action points and a pledge that any publisher can sign to show their commitment to realizing a better, more sustainable future.

The post 5 Action Points for Publishers to Improve Environmental Sustainability appeared first on CACTUS.