ACADE MY OF SCIE NCE OF SOUT H AF RICA (ASSAf) SCHOL ARL Y PUBL ISHING PROGRAMME Pr e se ntation to SE MINAR ON RE SE ARCH UPT AKE AND UT IL ISAT ION: “A Conse nsus Mode l for Re se ar c h Disse mination and Uptake ” 14 Se pt 2009 Applying sc ie ntific thinking W Ge ve r s, Chair pe r son:ASSAf’s Committe e on in the se rvic e o f so c ie ty Sc holar ly Publishing in South Afr ic a
OVE RAL L OBJE CT IVE S T he ASSAf Sc holar ly Publishing Pr ogr amme is c onc e ptualise d as a c onc e rte d inte rve ntion into the c ountry’s national syste m of Innovation (NSI), aligne d with the T e n- Ye ar Innovation Plan of the DST , and foc use d on the e nhanc e me nt of the quality, quantity and worldwide visibility of original, pe e r- re vie we d public ations produc e d by r e se ar c he r s in the public se c tor , the foste r ing of a ne w ge ne ration of highly c ompe te nt and pr oduc tive sc ie ntists and sc holar s, and e nhanc e me nt of r e se ar c h uptake and utilisation. It is base d on appr oac he s typic al of Ac ade my a c tivitie s (e vide nc e - ba se d, pe e r re vie w, e tc )
ASSAf RE PORT 2006: JOURNAL - BASE D PUBL ICAT IONS • Str ong indige nous jour nal syste m e sse ntial • Code of be st prac tic e in e diting and pe e r re vie w ne e de d • Cyc lic al pe e r re vie w of journals by ASSAf pane ls propose d • Sugge sts ac c re ditation of re se arc h outputs by govt. should be base d on pe e r r e vie w- QA syste m as ne xt phase of inc e ntivising quality in Highe r E duc . Instits.
ASSAf RE PORT (CONT IN.) National platfor m r e quir e d for ope n ac c e ss thr ough high- • quality, fr e e - online jour nals AND institutional r e positor ie s – govt. bac king ne e de d, me c hanisms to be e xplor e d Infor mation syste m to be se t up, plus c ita tion inde xing a nd • valid bibliome tr ic me thods T r anslation/ uptake / utilisation of sc holar ly c onte nt ne e de d for • public be ne fit – e sp. e duc ation, innovation, de ve lopme nt Inte r national : e ffor ts to pr omote public se c tor , le ve l- playing • fie ld, fr e e ly ac c e ssible inde xing syste m
ASSAf RE PORT : PROGRE SS ON RE COMME NDAT IONS 1,3 AND 5 National Sc holar ly E ditor s’ F or um e stablishe d - te r ms of • r e fe r e nc e agr e e d- c onse nsus “National Code of be st pr ac tic e in E ditor ial Disc r e tion and Pe e r Re vie w” publishe d – database of jour nals/ e ditor s ne ar ly r e ady – blog be ing e stablishe d - thr e e annual me e tings he ld with good atte ndanc e and par tic ipation Mandate give n for disc ipline - gr oupe d pe e r r e vie w of S A • sc holar ly jour nals – c r ite r ia and proc e ss guide line s approve d – fir st two Conse nsus Pe e r Re vie w Pane ls ne ar ly finishe d (Soc ial Sc ie nc e s e t al, Agr ic ultur e / Basic L ife Sc i e t al) – re por ts will be ope n domain and multi- purpose for polic y- make r s, syste m analysts, publishe rs, c ontributors and re ade rs – ne xt four groups of journals unde rway
ASSAf RE PORT : PROGRE SS ON RE COMME NDAT ION 4 � Ne gotiations pe nding for inc lusion of be st- pr ac tic e guide line s in CHE / HE QC QA syste ms for highe r e duc ation institutions, sc ie nc e c ounc ils � Working toward fre e - online , 4- tie re d c our se syste m in sc ie ntific wr iting for postgr aduate s and young staff - c onsultative e xpe rt workshop e xpre sse d str ong suppor t
RE COMME NDAT ION 2 (c ontin.) • Disc ipline - gr oupe d c onse nsus pe e r r e vie w of S A jour nals by ASSAf Pane ls will pr ovide str ong inputs into futur e ac c r e ditation mode ls/ polic y for r e se ar c h outputs (plus Sc holar ly Books study now r e le ase d) • T he re will be a tig hte ning up of the va lidity of S&T indic ator analyse s • T he r e will be nor mative e ffe c ts on whole NSI thr ough be tte r training, be st prac tic e , c ompe tition for e xc e lle nc e
ASSAf RE PORT : Pr ogr e ss on Re c omme ndation 6 (Ope n Ac c e ss) Vision of inc r e asingly visible , highly c ite d/ high- impac t, c ollabor ation- inviting, loc ally publishe d jour nals in SA: T ask T e am on (possible ) “national platform for public ation of • high- quality, ope n ac c e ss (“Gold Route ”) sc holar ly jour nals” E xamination of SABINE T ; AJOL ; Hindawi (Cairo); Sc iE L O (S. • Ame r ic a, e x Br azil) Institutional r e positor ie s (“Gr e e n Route ”) e nc our age d • (c oope r ation with NRF , HE I’s, e tc )
CONSULTATION TODAY: possible adoption of SciELO model for SA • WG “opinion piece” in SciDev.Ne t and recent Science Editorial: : the case for regional journal systems; many supporting voices • Merits of SciELO model considerable: - exportable system to new countries, but remains common system, interoperable, basic “rule-book” (Brazil office core to whole system) - now extends to other South/Central American countries - quality threshold for inclusion (national representative-type committee); monitored - full open-access publishing platform, full-text free online, fully indexed for citations, + other info.= informative +++ BUT: - all print publishing, journal editing, etc. is outside system
? Sc iE L O SOUT H AF RICA • c .550 journa ls in Sc iE L O, 180 in Bra zil (e x 1000+ ove r all publishe d) • Citation analysis shows “inte r national gr oup” a nd “r e gional gr oup” • Ne gotiations c ur r e ntly with T homson Sc ie ntific on linking with ISI:We b of Sc ie nc e • Cor e Br azilian ope r ation funde d by BIRE ME / PAHO and Sao Paulo “NRF ” at c . R6- 7 million pe r annum - for har dwar e and te c hnic al / manage me nt staff • Software , training, start- up support available e x Br azil
“Sc iE L O SA”: T he way- to- go? • “Sc iE L O SA” se e n as possible “nuc le us” for e xte nsion to othe r Afr ic an c ountr ie s, ultimate ly “de ve loping c ountry we b- of- sc i” • ASSAf has jour nal pe e r r e vie w mode l for quality thr e shold, multi- be ne fits of quality impr ove me nt • Re tr o- digitisation fe asible , par tne r ship with Sabine t/ Car ne gie • Appt. of newly identified f/t SPU Director, Susan Veldsman, to drive project with chairperson of CSPiSA • Start-up in early 2009, soon 8+ pilot journals in SciELO SA, budgets adjusted, staff being recruited, hardware/software acquired .
Model for uptake and utilisation • Local journals encourage coherence in local research community • Outcomes/implications noticed, taken up better • Integration of developing and mature scholars into communities of practice • Rigorous quality assurance enhances confidence, participation in system • Better indicators, better monitoring • Intellectual property protection: implementation assisted
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