Hybrid Researcher to Reader to offer ‘full conference experience’

Transformative agreements, new business models and the experiences of early-career researchers are all up for discussion at the Researcher to Reader (R2R) conference, to be held in London and online next month.

The hybrid conference, supported by Research Information and an established fixture on the scholarly communications event circuit, takes place from 22 to 23 February – with in-person proceedings taking place at BMA House in London.

R2R kicks off with a panel discussion entitled Early Career Researcher Insights. An understanding of the practices, experiences and attitudes of early career researchers (ECRs) can be a harbinger of the future and an insight into the likely expectations of the research community. The results of an international qualitative and quantitative multi-year survey will reveal important insights into ECRs in around the globe. There is also a workshop that will be explore the results in more detail.

A key presentation on transformative agreements will come from Lisa Hinchliffe, a professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Hinchliffe says: ‘The discussion around transformative agreements primarily focuses on supporting publishing. Less attention has been given to transformative agreements expanding reading access to paywalled content as libraries contract for reading access to extensive packages of titles in order to open pathways for publishing in those hybrid journals.   

‘In some ways, transformative agreements are the “Bigger Big Deal” and have reached global adoption in recent years. This approach is particularly notable in contrast to unbundling. These big transformative agreements are enabling publishers to leverage their paywalled content in order to capitalise their transition to open access.’

Business models will come under the spotlight in a debate entitled: The world would be a better place if research funders, rather than readers and libraries, bore the cost of scholarly publishing. Two teams of two debaters will argue for and against the proposition, and will explore whether the world benefits more from a system where the funding organisations that support Researchers pay for the costs of scholarly publishing, or whether it is better that Readers should be paying these costs (by way of library subscriptions or other payment methods).

Event director and organiser Mark Carden said: ‘Despite concerns about rising Covid cases in the UK and world-wide, we still aim to be able to welcome physical participants to our BMA House venue in central London, while also delivering a full conference experience to those who choose to participate online.’

Register at: https://theeventshub.eventsair.com/r2r2022/reg/Site/Register