Publishing Systems Can Enable Collaboration and Build Community

By Tony Alves, SVP of Product Management, HighWire Press - Silver sponsor of the ALPSP Annual Conference and Awards 2024.

For almost 35 years, from my early days as an editorial assistant to today as SVP of product at HighWire Press, I’ve been observing how publishing systems can foster collaboration and build a more connected and trustworthy scholarly community. The publishing process is a highly automated ecosystem where advanced workflow systems coordinate communication among authors, editors, and reviewers. These platforms foster collaboration, streamline workflows, and accelerate the time from manuscript submission to publication. On 5 June at the SSP Annual Meeting, I had the privilege of moderating an Industry Breakout Session titled “Publishing Systems Can Enable Collaboration and Build Community,” I was joined by Chris Shillum from ORCID, Dukhbhanjan Sujlana from Convey, Yvonne Campfens from OA Switchboard, Hylke Koers from STM Solutions, Jessica Thibodeau from Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), and Oleg Ruchayskiy from Prophy Science. Together, we explored how integrated technologies are transforming the scholarly publishing ecosystem and creating a virtuous circle that benefits all stakeholders.

I started by introducing the concept of the scholarly community as an interconnected system. At its core, publishing is a collaborative endeavor that involves researchers, institutions, funders, and publishers, as well as the public, which both funds and benefits from our work. The glue that holds this ecosystem together is the technology that enables efficient workflows and access to the tools we need to support scholarship. Systems like the one we’ve been building at HighWire, called DigiCorePro, streamline everything from manuscript submission to publication, fostering collaboration among all players while ensuring that scholarly research moves quickly and smoothly through the publishing process.

A key focus of the session was the role of persistent identifiers (PIDs) in fostering transparency and trust in scholarly communication. Chris Shillum from ORCID was the first to address this topic. ORCID IDs are essential for linking researchers to their work, making it easier for institutions, funders, and publishers to accurately attribute contributions and track outcomes. Chris highlighted how ORCID’s integration across platforms reduces administrative burdens for researchers, allowing them to focus on their work rather than paperwork. ORCID’s role in peer review enables reviewers to link their reviews to their ORCID profiles, promoting transparency and incentivizing participation in peer review, which is crucial as we work to address the reviewer crisis.

Another area where transparency and efficiency intersect is financial disclosure, which is where Dukhbhanjan (DK) Sujlana and Convey come in. DK introduced Convey, a web-based platform that allows researchers and other individuals to manage financial disclosures in one place. This system simplifies the disclosure process by eliminating redundant data entry, ensuring that individuals can share their information with multiple organizations seamlessly. encouraging adoption of Convey by academic institutions, societies, and publishers can help in maintaining trust in the research process.

Yvonne Campfens from the OA Switchboard discussed how the community-led initiative is simplifying the exchange of open access (OA) publication information. The OA Switchboard acts as a centralized hub for metadata exchange, reducing complexity and administrative burdens for publishers, funders, and institutions. By allowing all relevant parties to be notified when an OA article is published, the OA Switchboard streamlines compliance with funding requirements and OA agreements. What stood was the emphasis on simplicity and collaboration—two principles that are essential as we work to make open access more efficient and scalable.

Hylke Koers from STM Solutions introduced the STM Integrity Hub, an initiative that aims to protect research integrity through the use of data intelligence and advanced technology. The Integrity Hub connects publishers to external databases like PubPeer and Retraction Watch to screen manuscripts for signs of research misconduct, including papermill activity and duplicate submissions. Hylke’s presentation highlighted the importance of collaboration in maintaining the integrity of scholarly publishing. By providing a centralized platform where publishers can access a wide range of data and tools, the Integrity Hub helps to ensure that research is trustworthy and that misconduct is caught before publication.

Jessica Thibodeau of CCC, showcased the Scholarly Communications Suite. This suite of tools helps streamline the management of open access agreements and Article Processing Charges (APCs), leveraging persistent identifiers like Ringgold IDs to ensure accuracy and compliance. Most compelling was how CCC’s tools enhance data interoperability while improving workflow efficiency for publishers and researchers. Disambiguating author affiliations and track research outputs is vital for ensuring that scholarly work is accurately represented and recognized.

Lastly, Oleg Ruchayskiy from Prophy Science tackled one of the most pressing issues in our industry: the peer review crisis. Oleg demonstrated how Prophy uses big data and AI to match reviewers with manuscripts, creating digital “fingerprints” for researchers based on their publication history. This system makes it easier to find qualified reviewers quickly and ensures that conflicts of interest are detected before they become a problem. Oleg also shared exciting upcoming features, including fraud detection and reviewer availability tracking, which can increase trust and improve efficiency.

Throughout the session, one thing became clear: collaboration is at the heart of scholarly publishing. Whether it’s ORCID ensuring that researchers are properly credited for their work, Convey simplifying financial disclosures, the OA Switchboard streamlining metadata exchange, or the STM Integrity Hub safeguarding research integrity, these technologies all share a common goal—building a stronger, more trustworthy scholarly community. As publishers, we have the responsibility to integrate these tools into our workflows to enhance transparency, efficiency, and integrity.

I concluded the session by emphasizing how publishing systems like DigiCorePro are crucial in addressing key challenges, such as diversifying reviewer pools, improving content integrity, and reducing time-to-publication. Publishing systems integrate innovative tools into seamless workflows, fostering collaboration and community-building across the scholarly ecosystem. The SSP 2024 Industry Breakout Session highlighted that the future of scholarly publishing relies on leveraging technology and collaboration to create a more efficient, transparent, and resilient ecosystem that meets the evolving needs of researchers, institutions, funders, and the public.

About the author

Tony Alves, SVP of Product Management, HighWire Press

Email: tony.alves@highwirepress.com

www.highwirepress.com