We are pleased to be able to announce the proposition for the Debate at the Researcher to Reader Conference on 23-24 February 2021. The proposition will be:

“Resolved: Journal publishers should pay academics for providing peer review.”

The debate will be a reasoned but impassioned argument on the merits (or otherwise) of the proposition, conducted in a formal manner by two opposing teams of debaters. The Conference participants will join in, by voting on the proposition before and after the debate, and by asking questions. We plan to announce the debate teams shortly, but would also welcome last-minute volunteers or recommendations.

Videos of previous debates are available on YouTube:
2020 Debate: The venue of its publication tells us nothing useful about the quality of a paper
2019 Debate: Sci-Hub is doing more good than harm to scholarly communication

The debate forms part of our lively and interactive Programme for the hybrid R2R Conference which will be a full two-day collegiate meeting, in contrast to the passive afternoon webinars that have been commonplace recently. As well as the debate, the programme includes workshops, panels, an interactive participant survey and much more.

Registration is open now, with discounts available for academics and librarians. Prompt registration for this hybrid event is risk-free, there is no need to choose between online or physical participation, and full refunds are available until the end of January.

Mark Carden
15 December 2020