We’re continuing our blog series on cultivating community-driven OA journals in honor of this year’s Open Access Week theme, “Community Over Commercialization.” We asked Scholastica users who publish academy-led fully OA journals to reply to the question:
What steps have you taken to engage stakeholders in your journal development process to build a community following, and what advice would you give others looking to do the same?
Below are responses from:
- Lajos P. Balogh, founding editor and EIC of Precision Nanomedicine: the European Foundation for Clinical Nanomedicine’s Diamond OA journal, which uses the Scholastica Peer Review System and OA Publishing Platform
- Arkadiy Finn, MD and Vijairam Selvaraj, MD, MPH, senior founding editors of the Journal of Brown Hospital Medicine: a Gold OA journal published by the Department of Medicine at Brown University that uses the Scholastica Peer Review System, Production Service, and OA Publishing Platform
- Naseem Naqvi, founding editor and EIC of The Journal of The British Blockchain Association: JBBA is a Diamond OA journal published by the British Blockchain Association that uses the Scholastica Peer Review System and OA Publishing Platform
Many thanks to everyone who took the time to contribute their insights!
Lajos Balogh, founding editor and EIC of Precision Nanomedicine
I think it starts with editorial strategy. You need a respectable and representative editorial board that is ready to work on the journal. Almost everyone will say yes if you invite them — because who wouldn’t want an editorship on their resume? The trick is finding respected editors with time.
From there, the number one thing is outreach, which we are still focusing on. Communicate the aims of the journal to as many people as you can, and then they can decide how they want to engage. For authors, we then focus on meaningful and professional communication. We even have a decision type called “reject with hope” to make clear when we think a paper has future potential, which should be the whole goal of publishing science. So that’s what we’ve done, and we started small and patiently built up a community following.
As I explained in a previous Scholastica blog interview about the founding of PRNANO, I left a position as editor-in-chief of an established Elsevier journal to start PRNANO because I thought there was a need for a not-for-profit journal aligned with the interests of the research community. So, I was in a good position to start this journal because I already had people who I used to work with who were interested in getting involved. So, there was a personal element to the project, which I think is absolutely necessary to get people on board.
As far as advice for building a community following, we use social media extensively because I find that people don’t like to read emails anymore. You have to be very patient and keep posting to social media networks. I used to say that sometimes I had the feeling that I was driving an ocean liner, turning the knobs slowly and then a half a year later the ship turned where I wanted it to go. I think that’s what it will feel like for many scholarly organizations. It takes time and the most important thing is to be patient and focus on publishing quality research and being helpful to your authors. When I send peer reviewer requests I’m always clear that I’m not asking for critiques, I’m asking for evaluations and advice that are helpful. That is what authors need and that’s what science is all about.
Building reputation and values takes a long time. Credibility is hard to build and easy to lose.
Arkadiy Finn, MD and Vijairam Selvaraj, MD, MPH, senior founding editors of the Journal of Brown Hospital Medicine
To engage key stakeholders in the development of the journal and build a community following, we have implemented several strategic steps:
- Regular Communication: We established open lines of communication with editors, authors, and reviewers, ensuring they are informed and can provide feedback on developments. We regularly gather insights from all stakeholders, ensuring their voices are heard and valued. Importantly, we have leveraged existing and new relationships within and beyond our institution, allowing us to form a wide base for submission and review.
- Social Media Engagement: We actively utilize social media platforms to promote content, share highlights from authors, and engage directly with readers, creating a dynamic community.
- Recognition Programs: We recognize our peer reviewers annually, celebrating their contributions publicly, which encourages participation.
- Inclusive Content Creation: We encourage stakeholders to submit guest articles and editorial pieces, bringing a variety of perspectives to the journal. We maintain a diverse editorial board, which allows us to represent a variety of opinions and experiences.
Launching a community-driven open access journal can be a rewarding endeavor. Here are some key pieces of advice:
- Engage with Your Community Early and Establish Clear Goals: Before launching, engage and gather input from potential authors, reviewers, and readers. Define your mission and vision clearly early in the process. If you continuously strive to understand your journal’s fit in the publishing ecosphere, you can continue to push in that direction and find expanding opportunities.
- Build a Strong Editorial Board: Recruit diverse members with expertise in your field who are passionate about academic research. Their networks can help promote the journal and enhance its credibility.
- Utilize Technology Effectively: Choose a publishing platform such as Scholastica that facilitates barrier-free submission, peer review, and production processes. Ensure your user experience is friendly for both contributors and reviewers.
- Promote Inclusivity: Encourage submissions from authors in non-native English-speaking countries and offer resources to assist them in navigating the publishing process.
- Leverage Social Media: Use social media to promote research articles, share journal updates, and connect with your audience. Share impactful research from your contributors on social media to celebrate their contributions and attract new submissions.
- Be Open to Feedback: Continuously seek feedback from your editorial team and your community and be willing to adapt based on their suggestions and concerns
Naseem Naqvi, founding editor and EIC of The Journal of The British Blockchain Association
Since the journal’s launch in 2017, we have actively engaged with our Blockchain community by fostering an inclusive publishing approach. Key initiatives include:
- Launching the world’s first, Centre for Evidence Based Blockchain (CEBB) to bridge the blockchain research and practice gap. The CEBB designs easy-to-understand blockchain research infographics and summaries of important research papers to help industry and policymakers comprehend complex topics and key outcomes in a byte-size format, thereby achieving the maximum possible impact of published research.
- Hosting regular editorial board meetings to align on journal goals and standards.
- Building strong relationships with leading Blockchain researchers and practitioners to contribute as authors and peer reviewers. The journal has grown to over 500 editors and reviewers in 74 countries. The JBBA University Network is now the world’s largest Blockchain University Network.
- Offering open access to all JBBA articles, which has enabled widespread distribution and engagement from a global readership.
- Organizing International Scientific Conferences (ISCs), Scholars in Blockchain international symposia, BBA Journal Clubs, university workshops, research webinars, Monthly BBA Forums, panel discussions, and academic roundtables to connect directly with authors, readers and editors, encouraging a collaborative knowledge-sharing environment.
- Leveraging social media and academic networks to share research and updates, ensuring continuous interaction with the broader Blockchain community. We are on all major social media platforms including X, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Nostr, LinkedIn, Medium, and our monthly newsletter to 15k+ subscribers.
- Proactively reaching out for author testimonials and feedback, which is then shared across our socials, showcasing both the journal and the authors.
- Awarding Best Research Paper and Peer Reviewer of the Year awards to scholars that are making noteworthy contributions to the field of Blockchain.
- Awarding BBA Fellowship (FBBA) to outstanding JBBA editors and blockchain scholars in the field.
- Sending out personalized print copies of the journal to the university deans and vice chancellors of 800+ leading universities across six continents that are actively involved in blockchain research and education. The Journal is indexed in all major university libraries around the globe. The journal is also read and acknowledged by the British Royal Family.
- Keeping track of Altmetrics and attention scores of the published research, to determine who is talking about and citing the journal’s papers, what impact the published research has made, and how we can better engage with the readers.
My advice for those developing community-driven journals would be:
- Prioritize Community Involvement: Engage stakeholders early in the development process. Build strong relationships with academics and professionals who are committed to the journal’s mission.
- Emphasize Quality and Transparency: Establish rigorous peer review processes and transparent editorial policies to build credibility.
- Leverage Technology: Use modern publishing platforms such as Scholastica to streamline submission, review, and dissemination. Effective use of digital tools will enable you to reach a wider audience and enhance accessibility.
- Promote Your Journal Strategically: Collaborate with relevant academic conferences, workshops, and other forums to raise awareness and showcase your journal’s value to the community.
- Be Patient and Adaptable: Building a successful OA journal takes time. Be open to feedback, and continuously evolve to meet the needs of your stakeholders.
Scholastica thanks everyone who took the time to contribute their stories and advice for this blog series — we are ever appreciative of our amazing Scholastica user community! You can read Part 1 of this blog series here.
We invite you to share your thoughts on building engaged OA journal communities in the comments section below. You can also find Scholastica on social media on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook.
