Following HAL, Episciences is now launching its own ambassadors program. Four researchers have agreed to inaugurate this program with us, which aims to strengthen the connection and dialogue with scientific communities and to increase researchers’ commitment to Diamond Open Access publishing.
By launching this program, Episciences is implementing one of the outreach initiatives it committed to as part of its participation in the SCOSS family.
Ambassadors: A Valuable Link for Infrastructures Serving the Scientific Community
Ambassador programs are indeed a proven tool for open science initiatives, enabling infrastructures to maintain dialogue with the research communities they serve.
In our program, their role will be to affirm the compatibility of Diamond Open Access publishing with rigorous and high-quality scientific publishing. The objective is to address persistent misconceptions, such as the idea that Diamant journals are less prestigious than traditional journals or those requiring an article processing charge (APC). They will help us promote the Episciences platform as a tool for researchers to reclaim the publishing process—an instrument that assists them in producing FAIR publications, in compliance with COPE standards. The program will thus raise awareness among research communities about Diamond Open Access.
Recruiting ambassadors also allows Episciences to remain attentive to the needs of authors and platform users. The ambassadors’ expertise in publishing and their familiarity with our tool ensure that the platform remains dynamic and aligned with long-term publishing needs. The program will therefore strengthen user engagement with the platform.
Episciences hopes to bring together a community of researchers already committed to Diamond Open Access publishing, offering examples that can inspire and convince even more scientists.
Ambassadors to Advocate and Disseminate Shared Values
Four researchers, already deeply involved in the editorial teams of Episciences journals, have accepted the role of ambassador.
- Murray Elder, a mathematician at the University of Technology Sydney (Australia), is co-editor-in-chief of the journal jGCC (journal of Groups, Complexity, Cryptology) and president of the Australian Mathematical Society. He contributed to the transition of the journal from a commercial model to the Diamond Open Access model. He advocates for fair, equitable, and accessible scientific publishing, which means moving away from the profit-driven logic of major commercial publishers.
- Anca Muscholl, a professor at the University of Bordeaux (France) and a member of LaBRI (Bordeaux Research Laboratory in Computer Science), has an international background (University of Stuttgart, Technical University of Munich). She is also co-editor-in-chief of TheoretiCS and a member of the editorial board of LMCS (Logical Methods in Computer Science). Deeply involved in the editorial process for scientific communication and an expert in research publishing challenges, she champions the quality of Diamond Open Access publications and their scientific value.
- Filippo Nuccio, a senior lecturer at Jean Monnet University in Saint-Étienne (France), is systematically committed to defending open access publishing. He serves on the Publications College of the French Committee for Open Science, is the open science representative for his university, and is a member of the steering committee of the MathOA Foundation. As a founding member of the AFM journal, he joins the ambassadors to further raise awareness among scientific communities about open science initiatives, which, in his experience, are still too often ignored or misunderstood.
- Vladislav Yastrebov, a CNRS research scientist in solid mechanics at the Centre des Matériaux, Mines Paris – PSL, and is a founding member of JTCAM, the first Diamond Open Access journal in mechanics. He believes that open science initiatives are tools for researchers to regain control over the scientific publishing process, which, in his view, should be open, freely accessible, and driven solely by the interests and needs of the scientific community.
Next Steps for the Program
Over the coming months, we will begin to explore the potential of this group of ambassadors. We will need to define the best strategies to effectively reach researchers, identify the most suitable moments and places to open dialogue on Diamond Open Access publishing or to present the platform. The year will also be dedicated to developing tools to clarify the Episciences model and to creating arguments tailored to the scientific community.
In a second phase, Episciences will diversify the profiles of its ambassadors, particularly by recruiting from other disciplines and geographical areas.