APE innovation award opens for 2027 nominations
Digital Science and the Berlin Institute for Scholarly Publishing (BISP) have opened nominations for the 2027 APE Award for Innovation in Scholarly Communication.
Now in its fifth year, the award recognises an individual who has introduced innovation in scholarly communication for the research and academic publishing communities. The winner will receive a €1,000 prize, travel support and free attendance at the 22nd Academic Publishing in Europe (APE) Conference, which takes place in Berlin from 11 to 13 January 2027.
Nominations close on Friday 27 November 2026.
Since its launch, the award has recognised innovators working across a range of areas in scholarly communication, including peer review, open publishing, research integrity and research assessment.
Previous recipients include Vsevolod Solovyov, who received the award in 2023 for his work on an online platform recommending grant reviewers to the European Research Council, and Laura Feetham-Walker, recognised in 2024 for her work advancing academic peer review through training and certification.
Dr Raym Crow received the 2025 award for pioneering mission-driven, sustainable open publishing models, while the 2026 award went to Dr Anita Bandrowski for her work on RRIDs and SciScore, aimed at improving research rigour and transparency across more than 2,000 journals worldwide.
Yvonne Campfens, Director APE, said: “The APE Award has always been about more than recognising innovation – it is about starting conversations. By celebrating those who challenge established approaches and develop new ideas, the Award helps us look ahead and think together about the future of scholarly communication.”
Full entry criteria, information about the judging panel and nomination details are available on the APE Award website.