Insights on enhancing Global South publishing from the Research4Life workshop at Researcher2Reader Conference
A key challenge facing editors and journal publishers in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is limited access to essential training and resources that support academic publishing. A workshop held in February in London, during the Researcher2Reader Conference, explored how Research4Life, in collaboration with the conference delegates, could address disparities in scholarly publishing through targeted publishing skills-building initiatives. Participants considered strategies for developing publishing courses and mentorship programs aimed at editors and journals, with the goal of raising the quality of local publications, increasing visibility in the global research landscape, and building a sustainable publishing infrastructure in regions that needed it most.
Employing the Appreciative Inquiry approach, participants engaged with the 4D cycle (Discover, Dream, Design, Deliver) developed by Cooperrider and Whitney, 2005. This structured framework enabled participants to collaboratively identify existing strengths, envision future possibilities, strategize effectively, and outline clear paths toward sustainable publishing infrastructure in LMICs.
Key discussions centred around critical themes such as mentoring and peer support, open access publishing, securing funding, tackling indexing challenges, and establishing robust publishing infrastructure. From these discussions, two key actionable areas emerged, Mentoring and Peer Support, and Infrastructure and Standards, which will guide future initiatives aimed at empowering researchers and editors in these regions.
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