The Nextgenediting Global Initiative
Today, Nextgenediting launches the search for volunteers for the Nextgenediting Global Initiative.
The Global Initiative aims to address two unmet needs within the scientific editing sector: the need for provision of high-quality editing to authors from low-income countries, and the provision of training for individuals seeking a career in medical and scientific editing.
Two events occurred here recently which brought home the need for innovation in this area. Firstly, we received a few manuscripts from low-income countries which were of high scientific quality. However, they required editing and the authors were unable to pay ‘high-income country’ editing fees, which represented 50-100% of their monthly wage. The second thing that happened was that Rubriq, a company based in the US, launched its portable peer review service which will see further fees passed on to the author (see a Nature news item here). This will place another barrier between the output from scientists in low-income countries, and publishing in recognised international journals. Although these developments are no doubt exciting (and indeed necessary) for those within the industry, they are also another source of global inequity in science.
We recognise that there may be a solution to this, hence the Nextgenediting Global Initiative. We receive many requests each month from individuals seeking to carve out careers in medical and scientific editing, but do not know where to start. We believe that one way to learn how to edit is by ‘on-the-job’ training, feedback, and mentorship.
By matching volunteer editors with manuscripts from low-income countries, and quality-assuring the process at Nextgenediting, we believe that we can improve the accessibility of editing services - and hence the quality of the communication of the science - without unduly harming commercial interests.
Everyone stands to gain: authors get their manuscripts improved at no cost and receive quality feedback on style and English, editors receive training, publishers receive higher-quality submissions, we meet our aims of being an ethical and socially responsible company, and society benefits from the dissemination of science which may otherwise not be published due to financial constraints or shortcomings in language and editing.
We believe that by offering these services at no cost to authors from the poorest countries, we will help remove another barrier they face in scholarly communication. The Nextgenediting Global Initiative will ultimately help to develop local research skills and infrastructure in low-income countries. This improves their chances of being included in the global research agenda.
We are currently in the first phase of the initiative - the recruitment of volunteer editors. Manuscript submission will start in April. While a core aim of the project is to support training of junior editors, we will also welcome experienced editors who wish to offer their services for free. Nextgenediting is absorbing the costs associated with the initiative, which is being offered on a non-profit basis.
For further information, please click here.
If you would like to apply to be a volunteer editor, please click here.
If you are a publisher or journal editor who wants to find out more, or promote the initiative, please click here.
Finally, please spread the word via social networking (links below or top right). This promises to be exciting.
The Nextgenediting Team
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The Global Initiative aims to address two unmet needs within the scientific editing sector: the need for provision of high-quality editing to authors from low-income countries, and the provision of training for individuals seeking a career in medical and scientific editing.
Two events occurred here recently which brought home the need for innovation in this area. Firstly, we received a few manuscripts from low-income countries which were of high scientific quality. However, they required editing and the authors were unable to pay ‘high-income country’ editing fees, which represented 50-100% of their monthly wage. The second thing that happened was that Rubriq, a company based in the US, launched its portable peer review service which will see further fees passed on to the author (see a Nature news item here). This will place another barrier between the output from scientists in low-income countries, and publishing in recognised international journals. Although these developments are no doubt exciting (and indeed necessary) for those within the industry, they are also another source of global inequity in science.
We recognise that there may be a solution to this, hence the Nextgenediting Global Initiative. We receive many requests each month from individuals seeking to carve out careers in medical and scientific editing, but do not know where to start. We believe that one way to learn how to edit is by ‘on-the-job’ training, feedback, and mentorship.
By matching volunteer editors with manuscripts from low-income countries, and quality-assuring the process at Nextgenediting, we believe that we can improve the accessibility of editing services - and hence the quality of the communication of the science - without unduly harming commercial interests.
Everyone stands to gain: authors get their manuscripts improved at no cost and receive quality feedback on style and English, editors receive training, publishers receive higher-quality submissions, we meet our aims of being an ethical and socially responsible company, and society benefits from the dissemination of science which may otherwise not be published due to financial constraints or shortcomings in language and editing.
We believe that by offering these services at no cost to authors from the poorest countries, we will help remove another barrier they face in scholarly communication. The Nextgenediting Global Initiative will ultimately help to develop local research skills and infrastructure in low-income countries. This improves their chances of being included in the global research agenda.
We are currently in the first phase of the initiative - the recruitment of volunteer editors. Manuscript submission will start in April. While a core aim of the project is to support training of junior editors, we will also welcome experienced editors who wish to offer their services for free. Nextgenediting is absorbing the costs associated with the initiative, which is being offered on a non-profit basis.
For further information, please click here.
If you would like to apply to be a volunteer editor, please click here.
If you are a publisher or journal editor who wants to find out more, or promote the initiative, please click here.
Finally, please spread the word via social networking (links below or top right). This promises to be exciting.
The Nextgenediting Team
comments powered by Disqus