Changing the paradigm for primary research dissemination

TL;DR

This paper discusses the limitations of the current research publishing system and shares lessons from Open Research Central to help build a more equitable and transparent system.

Contribution

Shares insights and outputs from Open Research Central to guide the development of a responsible research dissemination system.

Findings

The current research publishing system is not equitable or optimized for societal benefit.

Open Research Central's experience provides valuable materials for building a better dissemination system.

Creating a collective voice for research validation and dissemination remains challenging.

Abstract

The predominant research publishing system is not equitable by design, nor optimised to advance research to create knowledge and ultimately to benefit society. Open Research Central (ORC) was created to foster the re-imagination of the research dissemination system to facilitate trust, transparency and equitable participation. In five years of operation, before dissolving, the non-profit organisation produced outputs and learnings valuable to the development of a responsible research dissemination system. We are sharing our experience in the hope that it will provide others who share the same vision and goals with useful materials to build on. We think that there remains a need for global, cross-stakeholder exploration to build collective understanding of research validation and dissemination and to pilot solutions. However, as this article will explore, enabling and supporting the development of such a collective voice and consequent action is a challenging endeavour in the current landscape and funding environment.

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