Perspectives

Associations that publish their journals via a publishing services agreement with a larger publisher must decide whether they should issue a competitive request for proposals or simply renegotiate a renewal with their incumbent publisher. What are the key considerations in making this important decision?

Associations face a critical challenge when outsourcing publishing to commercial publishers – the loss of control over valuable data. While publishers provide aggregate statistics, they restrict access to detailed data about subscriptions, audience behavior, and marketing performance. This article makes the case for data sovereignty – associations securing unrestricted rights to access and use their data, even when working with external partners such as commercial publishers. Establishing data sovereignty is not just a matter of principle – it has profound practical and commercial implications. Access to journal data is especially valuable – its high discoverability, its structured nature, and the significant daily traffic – make it one of the most valuable assets an association has.

This article makes the case for applying systems thinking to submission and peer review systems (SPRSs) in journals publishing. It argues that the evolving landscape of publishing necessitates a new way of thinking about these fundamental systems. The piece encourages publishers to reconsider their approach to SPRSs, suggesting that systems thinking could revolutionize this critical part of the publishing workflow.

A thorough Request for Information (RFI) and Request for Proposal (RFP) process is crucial for selecting the best Marketing Technology (MarTech) tools. A well-executed RFI process enables organizations to make informed decisions, saving time and resources. Well-constructed RFIs ensure the best technology is selected and integrates seamlessly with the organization's current marketing technology stack as well as their envisioned future marketing technology capabilities. RFIs facilitate cross-functional alignment, marketing adoption, and business case realization, making them valuable investments.

In this interview, C&E's Colleen Scollans talks to change management expert Charlotte Talmage of Uuna about how scholarly publishers and societies can more effectively manage change.

Transformative Agreements (TAs) are increasingly popular with publishers and institutions. However, they create significant challenges for the society partners of publishers. It is incumbent on societies to engage in frank discussions with their publisher about the impact of the publisher’s open access strategy and TAs on the society’s journals. It is critical to model, as more of the journal becomes open access via TAs, how the society journal’s different revenue streams will be impacted.

Campaign planning is essential to creating marketing efficiency and impact. A campaign planning model allows organizations to effectively prioritize, optimize, and evaluate marketing campaigns. It helps publishers, associations, and education service providers reduce marketing fragmentation and build cross-functional alignment around marketing priorities and resource and technology needs.

An audience-centric mindset is table-stakes to growing revenues and competing in the OA world. A data-driven audience strategy serves not only an organization’s current customers, but also the broader global audience that engages with its products, content, and brand. In this article, we explore what it takes for publishers and associations to build an effective audience strategy.

In this insightful Q&A with Nicko Goncharoff of Osmanthus Consulting, with whom C&E partnered to develop International STM Publishing in China: State of the Market Report 2023 – we explore China’s recent publishing sector and research assessment reforms. We demonstrate how international publishers and publishing service providers can navigate the dynamic and unique China market.

This article is part two of our Author Experience (AX) series, where we anchor the concept of AX more concretely. We present our model for working towards AX maturity: positive author perceptions that translate to increased article submission, resubmission, and referral. As organizations advance the six pillars outlined in this article, they progress their AX maturity and set themselves up for success in today’s evolving publishing landscape.