Conference Programme

R2R 2026 Conference ProgrammeR2R Lifecycle

The full Programme for 2026 Conference is listed below; the timetable will be set out in November, and the Lightning Talks will be announced in January. The programme is subject to change.

The Programme includes a Keynote Presentation, providing both a warning and inspiration for the Conference participants, there will be a Formal Debate, where speakers will offer disputation (in a friendly way) on the value of artificial intelligence. There will be Individual Presentations giving explanations about AI in a global context (and other topics) and a Panel Presentation, offering clarification on the alternative offerings in peer review. We will have Roundtable Conversations with wide-ranging discussion on how to make peer review more effective for researchers, and how open science infrastructure can be improved.

R2R is also proud to announce a new session format; a Case Study giving revelations about one publisher’s business model experiments. And last, but not least, we have our very popular Interactive Workshops, where Conference participants can experience collaboration as they discuss community communication, crisis preparation, AI for authors, metadata or peer review recognition.

Day 1 – Tuesday 24 February 2026

8.30 Registration and light refreshments – CONVERSATION

9.30 Welcome – INVITATION

The Conference Chairman welcomes the participants, thanks the sponsors, introduces the programme and makes feeble jokes.

  • Mark Carden, Chairman, Researcher to Reader Conference

9.40 Keynote – INSPIRATION

Open and Secure Research
Confronting uncomfortable truths about research openness, integrity and responsibility in global scholarship

We must confront some uncomfortable truths. Openness does not necessarily equate to trust, and the ideals of open research do not guarantee integrity. Open and secure research requires us to rethink how we share knowledge and what we want research to be and not be. If we fail to define what we mean by science, research, and even the term ‘researcher,’ then we leave ourselves vulnerable – less grounded in evidence and more at the mercy of shifting opinions. As we look toward a trusted global research future, we must address two intertwined challenges: knowledge security and responsible internationalisation.

  • Dr Leslie McIntosh, VP, Research Integrity and Security at Digital Science

10.30 Workshops: First Meeting – COLLABORATION

Workshops at R2R are facilitated collaborative conversations, with very high levels of delegate participation and engagement. Each workshop discusses a clearly-defined question or problem, and attempts to reach a resolution. Delegates select, on registration, just one preferred workshop out of choice of potential topics available. Workshop groups reconvene several times during the Conference timetable.

  • Jason de Boer, Managing Director at De Boer Consultancy (workshops manager)
  • Jayne Marks, Senior Associate at Maverick Publishing Specialists (workshops manager)

Workshop A: Responsible AI Use in Scholarly Writing
What resources can we create to support responsible AI usage amongst authors?

As generative artificial intelligence (AI) transforms the scholarly research and writing processes, disparate publisher policies on AI assistance, coupled with researcher AI literacy gaps, threaten scholarly integrity. This workshop aims to co-create practical resources for responsible AI use in authorship. Participants will review current AI usage guidelines and expectations, mapping risks and policy gaps, with the intention of drafting checklists, guidelines and disclosure templates, to support researchers and publishers in standardizing expectations. Participants will leave with toolkits and plans for embedding responsible AI usage across research publishing.

  • Elizabeth (Lizzy) Hay, Associate Director at Editorial Office
  • Dr Krishna Kumar Venkitachalam Iyer, Innovation Officer at Enago
  • Mary Miskin, Operations Director at Charlesworth
  • Dr Heather Staines, Senior Consultant at Delta Think

Workshop B: Using Incentives to Improve Peer Review
How should reviewers be recognised and rewarded for responsible peer review?

Peer review is central to scholarly communication, yet often slow, opaque, and inconsistent. Can incentives improve its quality and speed? In this workshop, participants will explore experiments in reviewer incentives, financial and otherwise, and their effects on accountability and transparency. We’ll draw on recent experiences of journals that are experimenting with reviewer payment. Through discussion and small group activities, participants will evaluate current peer review norms and propose scalable innovations that balance researcher needs with publishing integrity, while also considering economic constraints.

  • Dr Alejandra Clark, Managing Editor at The Company of Biologists
  • Dr David Maslove, Associate Professor at Queens University
  • Dr Tommaso Valletti, Professor of Economics at Imperial College London

Workshop C: Book Metadata, Discoverability & Usage
How can we improve the academic book data supply chain?

Academic books face significant metadata and discoverability challenges that can potentially hinder their reach and impact. Unlike journal articles, which benefit from standardised indexing systems, books often suffer from inconsistent, incomplete, or platform-specific metadata that makes them difficult to find across different discovery systems. Additionally, usage analytics for books remain fragmented across platforms, making it difficult for authors, publishers and librarians to understand how books are being accessed and used. This workshop will discuss these issues and to identify concrete actions to improve the quality and consistency of our data and to enhance the reach of our books.

  • Mark Collins, Director of Academic at Virtusales
  • Dr Nancy Roberts, Senior Associate at Maverick
  • David Rowe, Content and Discovery Senior Manager at the University of Sussex

Workshop D: Better Community Engagement
How can we develop purposeful engagement with stakeholder communities?     

Explore how to truly connect with your communities. In this collaborative workshop, we’ll discuss shared learnings and how purposeful engagement can transform passive audiences into passionate advocates. Co-create practical strategies to meet your community’s expectations and enhance your engagement strategies. Together, we will curate a step-by-step guide to build authentic, lasting relationships and drive meaningful change in your organisation and beyond. Facilitated by those actively involved and experienced in community engagement through different lenses.

  • Godwyns Onwuchekwa, Principal Consultant at Global Tapestry Consulting
  • Lou Peck, CEO at The International Bunch

Workshop E: Responding to Global Emergencies
How can the scholarly community be ready to respond to a crisis?

In an era marked by pandemics, conflicts, and natural disasters, effective emergency response demands trusted research, rapid action, and global collaboration. Yet current publishing efforts remain centred on ad hoc emergency resource centres that are fragmented and outdated. The real question: what should trigger a collective industry response, and how can we act decisively in ways which will address and leverage open science, AI and mis- and dis-information in times of crisis. In the three interactive sessions, participants will collaboratively develop a foundational Emergency Response Playbook, aiming to foster coordinated, agile, and impactful action within the scholarly publishing sector. This workshop challenges us to move beyond good intentions toward building a framework for coordinated emergency action across our sector.

  • Sarah Phibbs, Director Equity & Inclusion at STM
  • Rachel Martin, Senior Global Director, Sustainability at Elsevier

11.30 Break with Lightning Talks – CONVERSATION & INFORMATION

A Lightning Talk at R2R is a very short presentation given by a Conference participant, where they are announcing or promoting something, or raising a concern. Typically, the timetable includes 10-20 Lightning Talks, which are optional and take place during the breaks in the main programme. The Lightning Talk topics and speakers will be announced in January.

  • Dr Haseeb Irfanullah, independent consultant on environment and research systems (talks manager)

12.10 Roundtable: Peer Review – DISCUSSION

Making Peer Review Better for Researchers
What do article authors and readers want from peer review?

What really helps researchers both as authors and readers? We will look at some new ideas coming from researchers themselves both in traditional and non-traditional areas.  How can peer review better serve authors in making the process faster and more efficient, perhaps even by starting further back in the research process? how can we harness the huge volume of new researchers in Asia to support the global pool of peer reviewers?   And what do ECRs need from the peer review process to ensure their trust in the scholarly record? We are keen to hear ideas from the audience on how they might work with some of these ideas.

  • Jayne Marks, Senior Associate at Maverick Publishing Specialists (moderator)
  • Dr Ritu Dhand, Chief Scientific Officer at Springer Nature
  • Dr Gareth Dyke, Researcher at Reviewer Credits
  • Dr Stewart Manley, Assistant Professor at Maynooth University
  • Ari Staiman, CEO at American Language Experts

1.00 Lunch with Lightning Talks – CONVERSATION & INFORMATION

2.00 Presentation: Facing AI Futures Together – EXPLANATION

Using Scenarios to Rethink Libraries, Publishers, and the Scholarly Record

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping scholarly communication in unpredictable ways. Scenarios developed by the Association of Research Libraries and the Coalition for Networked Information highlight futures where discovery moves entirely to AI platforms, peer review is automated, or technology giants bypass traditional infrastructures. This session introduces those scenarios as a framework for understanding disruption across the research–to–reader lifecycle. It invites publishers, libraries, and researchers to consider how we might collaborate in preparing for multiple possible futures, protecting the scholarly record, and ensuring continued trust and value in an AI-driven world.

  • Professor Keith Webster, Dean of University Libraries at Carnegie Mellon University

2.35 Workshops: Second Meeting – COLLABORATION

Workshop A: Responsible AI Use in Scholarly Writing
Workshop B: Using Incentives to Improve Peer Review
Workshop C: Book Metadata, Discoverability & Usage
Workshop D: Better Community Engagement
Workshop E: Responding to Global Emergencies

3.35 Break with Lightning Talks – CONVERSATION & INFORMATION

4.15 Debate: Artificial Intelligence Tools – DISPUTATION

Resolved: AI Tools Will Provide a Net Benefit to Scholarly Communication

Two debaters argue for and against the proposition. This will be a formal debate, with the result decided by the impact of the arguments on all the Conference participants. An initial ‘baseline’ vote is taken at the start of the debate, and another vote is taken at the end. The winner is the side that has swayed opinion in their favour.

  • Rick Anderson, University Librarian at Brigham Young University (moderator)
  • Darrell Gunter, Managing Director at Gunter Media Group (for the motion)
  • Amanda Licastro, Head of Digital Scholarship and Visiting Associate Professor in English at Swarthmore College (against the motion)

5.15 Evening Reception – CONVERSATION


Day 2 – Wednesday 25 February 2026

8.30 Registration and light refreshments – CONVERSATION

9.00 Panel: Peer Review – CLARIFICATION

Rethinking Peer Review
How independent peer review models drive transparency, equity and innovation

Independent peer review providers are transforming research evaluation through journal-independent, community-driven models. The discussion will highlight how these initiatives promote transparency, equity, and efficiency in scholarly communication. Panellists will address how independent peer review reduces re-review fatigue, supports early-career researchers, and integrates with preprint and publishing workflows. The panel will provide insights into the evolving peer review landscape and give practical ideas for engaging with these platforms to advance more inclusive and effective models of research assessment.

  • Tony Alves, SVP, Product Management at HighWire Press (moderator)
  • Shane Alsop, Community Manager at eLife/Sciety
  • Dr Katherine Brown, Publishing Director at The Company of Biologists
  • Dr Jonny Coates, Founder at Rippling Ideas
  • Thomas Guillemaud, Co-founder at Peer Community In

10.00 Workshops: Third Meeting – COLLABORATION

Workshop A: Responsible AI Use in Scholarly Writing
Workshop B: Using Incentives to Improve Peer Review
Workshop C: Book Metadata, Discoverability & Usage
Workshop D: Better Community Engagement
Workshop E: Responding to Global Emergencies

11.30 Break with Lightning Talks – CONVERSATION & INFORMATION

11.40 Case Study: Business Models – REVELATION

S20: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Libraries, Readers, Researchers: What We Got Right, What We Got Wrong, and What’s Next

Subscribe to Open (S2O) is often framed as community-driven, yet implementation typically centres on libraries and revenue. For the American Physiological Society, a small nonprofit publisher, this work was completely new. Initial efforts focused on renewals and workflows, with the assumption that value would naturally extend to authors and readers. Feedback from editors, researchers, and indexers revealed confusion, pushing us to experiment with lightweight feedback tools and revised messaging. In this session, a publisher, consultant, researcher and a community engagement expert share lessons learned for resource-constrained societies and thoughts on measuring impact beyond revenue

  • Stacey Burke, Director of Publishing and OA Transformation at APS (moderator)
  • Professor Wolfgang Kuebler, Chair at the Institute of Physiology at Charité–Universitätsmedizin
  • Godwyns Onwuchekwa, Principal Consultant at Global Tapestry Consulting
  • Lou Peck, CEO at The International Bunch

12.30 Presentation: Publication Formats – EXPLANATION

Beyond the Journal Article
Exploring alternative scholarly publication formats

This presentation examines researchers´ perception of scholarly publications beyond traditional journal articles, exploring “novel” types of publication such as data publications, software, and replication studies as well as publication types used for science-to-public communication. Drawing on survey findings from 600+ researchers and broader international trends, we analyse characteristics of scholarly publications and developments in the recognition of emerging publication formats. The presentation provides insights for publishers developing business models, librarians supporting and cataloguing diverse research outputs, as well as funders and policy makers involved in the current debates on advancing research assessment.

  • Christian Kaier, Deputy Head of Publication Services at the University of Graz
  • Dr Lisa Schilhan, Head of Publication Services at the University of Graz

1.00 Lunch with Lightning Talks – CONVERSATION & INFORMATION

1.50 Workshop Feedback (Plenary) – COLLABORATION

Workshop A: Responsible AI Use in Scholarly Writing
Workshop B: Using Incentives to Improve Peer Review
Workshop C: Book Metadata, Discoverability & Usage
Workshop D: Better Community Engagement
Workshop E: Responding to Global Emergencies

2.35 Presentations: AI in a Global Context – EXPLANATION

Does AI Promote Equity or Division?
Is AI democratising global knowledge or entrenching digital bias?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing scholarly publishing; but most AI systems are trained on Western datasets. The inherent risks are not just amplifying bias and narrowing perspectives but also marginalising voices from the Global South. This presentation explores how AI may democratise or divide global knowledge, and what safeguards are needed for equity and diversity in research. Are we accelerating equity or colonialism?

  • Nikesh Gosalia, Chief Partnership Officer at Cactus Communications

Making AI Work for Global Research Integrity
Using global data and early adoption lessons to guide responsible AI adoption worldwide

New global data from a forthcoming white paper on the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) reveals stark regional differences in how researchers view AI’s role in global publishing. This presentation shares original survey findings alongside lessons from Frontiers’ early adoption of AI (AIRA – Artificial Intelligence Review Assistant) for integrity checks and peer review support. Together, these insights provide clear directions for what publishers, funders, and institutions must do next to ensure AI strengthens inclusion, equity and integrity across scholarly communication.

  • Simone Ragavooloo, Research Integrity Portfolio Manager at Frontiers

3.35 Break – CONVERSATION

4.15 Roundtable: Open Science Infrastructure – DISCUSSION

Infrastructure Sustainability: Finding Common Ground
Finding Shared Challenges and Complementary Strengths Across Open Science Infrastructure Stakeholders

A critical challenge in today’s funding landscape is building sustainable partnerships across seemingly opposing stakeholders. Public funding alone is insufficient, and over-reliance on single stakeholders puts critical systems at risk. Through interactive discussion, the panellists will examine their own biases and discover they may be closer to other stakeholders than initially thought. By analysing real-world examples, we will explore how different motivations can become complementary strengths. The goal is to model the kind of honest conversations different stakeholders need to have more often and identify practical ways to collaborate more effectively.

  • Emma Green, Director of Development at Invest in Open Infrastructure (moderator)
  • Christine Dunn, Head of Market Strategy for Publisher Services at Clarivate Analytics
  • Hannah Hope, Open Research Lead at Wellcome
  • Lautaro Matas is Executive Director at LA Referencia (Latin American Network of Open Science)
  • David Prosser, Executive Director at RLUK

5.00 Summary & Closing – CONSOLIDATION & CONCLUSION

In this regular (and surprisingly popular) session, a speaker attempts to briefly condense the entire content of this year’s Researcher to Reader Conference into an informal but coherent summary. This is followed by the closing of the Conference.

  • Mark Carden, Chairman, Researcher to Reader Conference




(Updated 15 Dec 2025 – Programme converted to Timetable)