At Science Colab we envisage a different future for scientific publishing
Science Colab is a collaboration of research scientists whose mission is to develop an equitable, inclusive, and transparent environment to add rigour to the scientific literature in a way that supports and benefits the community.
Our vision is of an ecosystem in which research findings are openly communicated and their significance recognised independently of publication venue.
The Science Colab story
Our founders appreciated the value of peer review, but were disillusioned with the lack of equity and transparency at traditional journals, and the poor service provided by a high cost publishing system.
Inspired by Stern and O'Shea, the founders realised that publication could be achieved on preprint servers, and that their community held all the necessary expertise to evaluate and curate these preprints.
They formed a collective named Science Colab and, following the backing of eLife in 2021, began to promote change in the industry by realising the potential of the 'Publish, Review, Curate' model.
The current system of reviewing and selecting articles for publication has changed very little since the mid-20th century, despite delaying and placing a financial burden on the dissemination of publicly funded research.
The 'Publish, Review, Curate' model provides an opportunity to accelerate communication of research findings, increase transparency in peer review, and improve equity and inclusivity in knowledge exchange.
In this model, authors decide when to publish their research as a preprint, allowing the scientific community to post public evaluations and the study to be improved. Once authors declare their study as final, it can be curated in an open collection and its relevance communicated to the widest possible audience.
Why publish first and curate second?
Improving equity, inclusivity, and transparency
We are providing our review and curation service without charge, and compensating reviewers and curators for their contributions, thanks to the generosity of our partners and steering group. In the longer term, we will develop a sustainable, nonprofit business model that supports and benefits the global scientific community.
Our service is available to all researchers whose work falls within the scope of our active communities and is underpinned by an inclusive approach to peer review. Early career researchers can join our mentorship programme, allowing them to gain experience of reviewing and curating preprints in a supportive environment.
We encourage constructive discourse within reviewing teams and with authors, which is inspiring reviewers to sign their consolidated reports and authors to post these reports publicly.
