The future of scholarly communication

A virtual brainstorming discussion between early career researchers and scientific publishers.

Please register here.

This virtual brainstorming event will bring together early career researchers who are passionate about improving scholarly communication and scholarly publishers who understand the complexities of the current system. Participants will share experiences, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the current system and collaboratively explore ideas and solutions for improving scholarly communication.

Early career researchers who are actively working on initiatives to improve publishing are especially encouraged to join. We welcome participants from around the world. Please email Friederike Kohrs (friederike-elisabeth.kohrs@charite.de) if you are interested in participating.

Event Outcomes

Topics discussed during this event will feed into a follow-up, in person event, “At the Crossroads” on January 9, in conjunction with the APE (Academic Publishing in Europe, https://academicpublishing europe.com/) conference on the 10-11 of January in Berlin. Insights gained from this virtual brainstorming event and follow-up, in person event will be shared with publishers and editors at the conference.

We will synthesize the discussion and lessons learned from the virtual brainstorming event and subsequent in person event by writing a paper in the months following the event. Participants will have the opportunity to contribute to this paper and be listed as co-authors.

Some specific topics that we will discuss include:

What factors are most important to you in deciding when, where and how to share or publish your work?
What barriers do early career researchers face when publishing their work? How do these barriers differ for early career researchers from communities that are marginalized or underrepresented in research? How can we address these barriers?
What complementary research outputs might you like to share, beyond publications (e.g. pre-registration documents, open protocols, open data, open code)? What obstacles do you face when attempting to share these materials in the current system? How might we adapt the publishing system to overcome these obstacles?
How can we make research outputs more inclusive and accessible to a broader audience? What groups face barriers to access or understanding, and how can we reduce these barriers?
What norms in the research community make it challenging to test or adopt new approaches? How can we shift these norms?
What role(s) do you think that early career researchers should play in the publications process, beyond submitting papers as authors? How can publishers involve early career researchers in these roles?
What change would you most like to see in scholarly communication and scientific publishing? How might you implement this change?

The format

A virtual brainstorming event (described in more detail here and here) is an asynchronous unconference-style group event where participants use an online chat platform (e.g. Slack, Microsoft Teams) to engage in discussions and share their experiences with others over several days. The session will be accompanied by virtual face-to-face "coffee chats" and "live" Open Space discussions to allow participants to get to know each other, share experiences, and discuss the pre-defined brainstorming questions or explore topics that emerge during the brainstorming.

The dates

January 4 - January 5

January 3 – Virtual networking event (optional): There will be two virtual networking events (1 hour) for participants to get to know one another and talk in small groups. Participants can join either session. The brief introduction to the event will be recorded so that those who can’t attend can view the recording later.

January 4-5 - Virtual brainstorming event: Participants do not need to be online the entire time. The goal is for participants to check the online discussion approximately 3-6 times during the two-day period to read what others have written and respond, discuss, or share your own ideas. You can also organise or participate in "live" discussions with others using the virtual open space.

January 4 - Special webinar sessions:During the virtual brainstorming event, we will offer two special webinars for participants to share their experiences or ideas.

PechaKucha: Participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences with scholarly communication and publishing. PechaKucha is a storytelling format in which a presenter shows 20 slides, with 20 seconds of commentary per slide. Participants who are interested in presenting should contact Friederike Kohrs. The session will be recorded for the public and for participants of the brainstorming event who cannot attend live.

Lightening talks - Proposals to improve publishing:: Early career researchers who are actively working to improve scholarly publishing will have the opportunity to present a lightening talk highlighting their proposal or initiative. Participants who are interested in presenting should contact Friederike Kohrs. The session will be recorded for the public and for participants of the brainstorming event who cannot attend live.

Examples of outputs that share lessons learned from past virtual brainstorming events

Recommendations for empowering early career researchers to improve research culture and practice
Ten simple rules for implementing open and reproducible research practices after attending a training course
Actions that early career researchers and supervisors can take to improve the mental health of early career researchers during the pandemic

The organisation team

Dr. Tracey Weissgerber - BIH QUEST Center @Charité Berlin

Dr. Friederike E. Kohrs - BIH-QUEST Center @Charité Berlin

Dr. Juliet Roudini - Neuro Cure Cluster of Excellence

Vartan Kazezian, MSc

Please register here.

Code of conduct
Our Pledge
In the interest of fostering an open and welcoming environment, we as event organizers and participants pledge to make participation in our project and our community a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.
Our Standards
Examples of behavior that contributes to creating a positive environment include:
- Using welcoming and inclusive language
- Being respectful of differing viewpoints and experiences
- Gracefully accepting constructive criticism
- Focusing on what is best for the community
- Showing empathy towards other community members
Examples of unacceptable behavior by participants include:
- The use of sexualized language or imagery and unwelcome sexual attention or advances
- Trolling, insulting/derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks
- Public or private harassment o Publishing other’s private information, such as a physical or electronic address, without explicit permission
- Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting
Our Responsibilities
Event organizers are responsible for clarifying the standards of acceptable behavior and expected to take appropriate and fair corrective action in response to any instances of unacceptable behavior.
Event organizers have the right and responsibility to remove, edit or reject comments or other contributions that are not aligned to this Code of Conduct, or to ban temporarily or permanently any participants for other behaviors that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful.
Scope
This Code of Conduct applies within all project spaces, and it also applies when an individual is representing the project or its community in public spaces.
Enforcement
Instances of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior may be reported by contacting the GRN community management group at tracey.weissgerber@bih-charite.de or friederike-elisabeth.kohrs@bih -charite.de. All complaints will be reviewed and investigated and will result in a response that is deemed necessary and appropriate to the circumstances. The organizers are obligated to maintain confidentiality with regard to the reporter of an incident. Further details of specific enforcement policies may be posted separately.
Participants who do not follow or enforce the Code of Conduct in good faith may face temporary or permanent repercussion as determined by other members of the project’s leadership.
Attribution
This Code of Conduct is adapted from the Contributor Covenant, version 1.4, available at https://www.contributor-covenant.org/version/1/4/code-of-conduct.html. For answers to common questions about this code of conduct, see https://www.contributor-covenant.org/faq.