by Sara Girard, Head of Marketing and Communications and Gwen Logan, Director of Customer Insights
Science belongs to everyone, and we believe it should be shared as widely as possible. Our goal is to ensure that physics research is trusted, open, and connected globally. Here, we’ll explore the changing landscape for open science, and what it takes to ensure fair, sustainable publishing options for our community of authors and researchers.
Navigating the Challenges of Open Science as a Purpose-Led Publisher
A recent Scholarly Kitchen article presents a challenging outlook for society and non-profit publishers. Since 2019, more than half of society publishers (56%) surveyed globally reported a drop in journal revenue, with smaller societies struggling the most. Open access (OA), technological complexity, economies of scale, and heightened competition all present threats to long-term sustainability. Added to this are pressures from reduced science funding in the US and abroad, concerns around AI, and growing challenges to research integrity. Together, these represent “real, urgent, and accelerating” risks for the sector.
At AIP Publishing, we recognize these challenges and the essential role of pragmatic innovation to ensure our publishing continues to support the scientific, charitable, and educational goals of AIP and our publishing partners. As a Purpose-Led publisher, we firmly support open science as a pathway to make science more accessible and inclusive for all.
Innovation is critical—but there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Our strategy must be intentional and tailored to the needs of the physical sciences community, guided by researcher priorities and responsive to local market needs.
Meeting Researcher Needs
We regularly conduct market research across the global physical sciences community to inform our strategies on open science and align with researcher needs. Researchers consistently affirm the value of openness: 67% of surveyed researchers believe science should be open for all – for the good of humanity.[i] When they can freely replicate and build upon each other’s work, researchers believe open science can be a catalyst for scientific breakthroughs, advancing science and discovery. It also enables researchers to share their work with a broader scientific audience, increasing citations and influence.[ii]
Adoption of OA reflects these values. In our recent survey, 72% of AIPP authors reported submitting to OA journals in the past two years, and 69% have published OA.[iii] In addition, openness to sharing data and negative results signals new opportunities for collaboration and scientific progress.[iv]
Moving to a more open environment doesn’t change researcher priorities: as the volume of research published continues to grow and AI-generated content enters the scholarly ecosystem, trusted, high-quality journals are considered vital by the majority of researchers. 79% of surveyed authors agree that peer review remains essential to safeguarding integrity.[v] Authors want a peer review process that is timely, constructive, and transparent.
Yet barriers remain. Research conducted with over 3,000 physical science researchers globally showed that APCs (article processing charges) still prevent many researchers – especially early career researchers and those in under-resourced settings – from participating in OA. Many see APCs as perpetuating inequities that open science is meant to overcome. Against a backdrop of declining funding and geopolitical uncertainty, fair and transparent alternatives are needed to ensure participation for all researchers.
What Does This Mean for AIP Publishing?
Scholarly publishing should open doors, and we are committed to ensuring it does.
Breaking barriers to open, fair research will require pragmatic, researcher-centered strategies that serve our communities, advance the physical sciences, and accelerate global progress. With that in mind, we recognize that a single approach to open science isn’t feasible, and that flexibility is the key to meeting this challenge.
As both a publisher and a service provider, AIP Publishing has taken an iterative approach to meet the varied needs of authors, libraries, and funders. Currently, we are balancing multiple business models to address regional mandates and budget realities, while actively advancing sustainable solutions. While this has served as a bridge from subscription-based to open-access models, navigating the transition remains a complex and inherently challenging balancing act.
That is why we created AIP Fusion, a new, comprehensive but simple model. AIP Fusion is a promise to power open science in a transparent and sustainable way, anchored in AIPP’s four core pillars of open science:
- Increase Transparency: We believe it’s essential to demystify the editorial process, outline what authors can expect at each stage, and clarify how publication decisions are made.
- Improve Access: When open science outputs across the research lifecycle can be discovered, used, and built upon more effectively, we open doors together.
- Embrace Difference: By embracing different perspectives, we can build more inclusive and impactful research communities.
- Ensure Sustainability: We can enable transformation for the long term by developing new business models and optimizing our publishing operations.
AIP Fusion moves beyond volume-driven publishing to a services-based approach that provides unlimited reading and publishing across AIPP’s full portfolio and removes per-article APCs for participating institutions. AIPP will remain agile and responsive by piloting region-specific models that respect the priorities of open-access-forward markets.
With resilience, collaboration, and a commitment to pragmatic innovation, we can ensure science is available to all and beneficial to all.
➤ Find out more about AIP Fusion – its benefits, how it works, and why it’s a game-changer for open science, or contact us at researcher-info@aipjournals.org to learn more.
[i] AIP Publishing survey, June-July 2023, n=1,995.
[ii] AIP Publishing scientist roundtable, February 2024
[iii] AIP Publishing author researcher survey, June-July 2023, n = 1,995
[iv] AIP Publishing scientist roundtable, February 2024
[v] AIP Publishing survey, June-July 2023, n=1,995.