Cambridge demands radical change in academic publishing
Cambridge University Press has released a report – Publishing futures: Working together to deliver radical change in academic publishing – calling for urgent, collective action to ensure academic publishing becomes more open, equitable and sustainable. The report draws on a global, community-led review and survey of more than 3,000 researchers, publishing partners, funders, librarians and publishers from 120 countries.
Despite broad support and advancement in recent years for open access publishing, longstanding and complex barriers within the academic publishing system persist. These are in spite of the progress made in open access and mean the transition to a more open and equitable future is at risk of stalling or even reversing.
Mandy Hill, Managing Director of Cambridge University Press, said:”Academic publishing is at a critical juncture. It is not breaking yet, but will without major change. We started our review by exploring barriers to the open access transition, but we uncovered deeper, systemic issues that affect the whole research ecosystem. Too many journal articles are being published and this is causing huge strain. The growth in publishing is driven by incentives in the system, and will be exacerbated by AI. We need creative thinking and commitment from all players to fix it. We can create a system that is open by default and equitable by design. That is how we as publishers can best support research.”
Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, said:“The many stakeholders in the research ecosystem will need to hear this call and come together. This is a collective action problem of major proportions. Academic institutions, professional societies, research funders, and academic publishers all have important roles to play in the development of a more equitable and sustainable model going forward. There is every reason for optimism: The report is filled with examples of sector initiatives to change academic incentive structures, innovative open-access arrangements, potential alternative publishing platforms, and concrete suggestions for better-supporting peer review.”
Key findings
While the vast majority (86%) support articles being made freely available, less than a third of respondents (32%) participating in the research believed the current system is in a good position to meet future challenges. Through workshops and stakeholder interviews, four urgent, interconnected themes were identified:
- Rising publishing volumes: In 2022, there were approximately 897,000 more indexed articles than in 2016.[1] This level of rapid growth, including an increase in poor-quality or AI-generated content and the rise of papermills, threatens the integrity of research. 81% of survey respondents agreed that this increase has put the peer review system under pressure.
- Financial unsustainability: The prevailing economic model is unsustainable, as libraries face mounting costs and a hybrid landscape combining pay-to-read and pay-to-publish models undermines efficiency.
- Widening equity gaps: Despite the promise of open access, disparities in publishing and accessing research remain, especially for those in low- and middle-income countries.
- Challenges in academic reward and recognition: The majority (64%) agreed that the current system incentivises quantity over quality in publishing outputs, distorting research evaluation. Only 33% feel that current reward and recognition systems work well.
A way forward
The report’s recommendations are designed to help realise collaborative, systemic reform, while recognising that journals and high-quality books will continue to be critical elements of the academic publishing ecosystem. For the system to thrive and meet future needs, change is essential. Cambridge recommendations include:
- Adapting academic reward and recognition systems to value quality over quantity, and to support diverse research outputs.
- Making equity a guiding principle for open access by enhancing global coordination, institutional support, and awareness to address systemic inequities, particularly for authors in low- and middle-income countries.
- Supporting credible, scalable alternative publishing platforms such as preprint servers, community platforms, and diamond open access models, in addition to traditional books and journals, as well as increasing publisher transparency on costs.
- Recognising peer review as a core academic contribution with appropriate reward structures, providing training and support for reviewers, and embracing responsible technological solutions to address peer review at scale.
Dr Jessica Gardner, University Librarian and Director of Library Services at the University of Cambridge, said: “Libraries have long served as stewards of research and knowledge, ensuring it is accessible, trusted, and preserved for future generations. Today, however, as the volume of published research continues to rise, libraries and institutions are facing growing financial strain, and researchers are facing greater pressures on their time to navigate and uphold the scholarly record. Addressing this requires a collaborative, sector-wide approach to develop new, sustainable, and open models for academic publishing.”
Monica Westin, Director of Open Policy Development at Cambridge University Press, concluded: “Even in this challenging moment, the message is clear: the global research community remains committed to making research open. Innovative models are emerging across disciplines and regions pointing the way forward. The next challenge is to come together to drive systemic change. With this report, we’re calling on the entire ecosystem – researchers, funders, librarians, and publishers – to collaborate on sector-wide solutions. Only by working together can we ensure that equity, quality, and transparency in research advance for everyone.”