Promoting equity in research & publishing

for researchers, publishers, editors, funders and higher education institutions.

Equity is a matter of fairness in relation to the just distribution of resources. It does not imply absolute equality, but it does imply equality of opportunity.

Since equity is an underlying principle behind the SDGs, we believe that all stakeholders should:

1. Acknowledge that collaboration may be more important than competition.

2. Agree that counting research publications and citations only tells part of the story of the true impact of research and is not an effective measure of quality.

3. Ensure that they have a clearly communicated policy on discounts and waivers.

4. Continue to develop business practices/models that are fair, equitable and transparent, and adapt these accordingly.

5. Recognize that some forms of discrimination may be the result of bias.