Several people who participated in the 2024 Researcher to Reader Conference, on 20-21 February in London, have written up their experiences in reviews of the whole event or particular sessions.
There are reports from Jason de Boer and Tony Alves on the Peer Review workshop. Plus a review by Romy Beard, and an article by R2R Advisory Board member (and Scholarly Kitchen ‘chef’) Dr Haseeb Irfanullah for the International Science Council.
Click on the images below to view the reports.
Further comments on the 2024 Conference may be found in the feedback from the participant survey and in the R2R Community Forum.
Participant feedback for the 2024 Researcher to Reader Conference, which took place at BMA House in London on 20-21 February, demonstrated continued high levels of satisfaction with the event, with delegates rating the Conference very positively.
Of those responding to the survey, over 98-100% rated the Conference relevant, valuable and recommendable (up from 94-98% in 2023), with the content overall receiving 94% positive ratings (up from 89%).
Plenary sessions in the main hall had average scores ranging from 3.1 to 3.7 (out of 4), with an overall average score of 3.3. The lightning talks (offered during the breaks) averaged even better, with the same range, but an average of 3.4 overall. Four out of the five breakout workshops received 100% positive feedback, with the average score for each of the five workshops ranging from 3.3 to 3.9 (out of 4), and an average score overall of 3.6. The structure of the event (timetable, mix of sessions, etc) was positively scored (92%), the food highly regarded (95% positive), and the event administration got 96% positive feedback.
Detailed Report
The survey, completed by over 50% of participants, showed 98% of respondents agreeing that the Conference was relevant to them professionally, and 100% saying it was valuable use of their time. 98% of those responding said they would recommend the event to others – we hope they will do so!
The overall content of the Conference was positively reviewed, with almost all respondents giving very positive scores and comments on the scope, content and delivery of the sessions. A few people suggested we should give more attention to the humanities and to books, and we will definitely aim to improve on this. Including more funder voices was also mentioned, and we would welcome any funders who wanted to join our conversations. We also continue to strive to include more voices from outside Europe and North America, and would welcome ideas and proposals that would help with this.
“A diverse array of topics, all interesting and valuable”
“Overall, great content”
“Excellent mix of high profile speakers”
“Fantastic speakers”
“I am impressed how interesting a conference can be”
The plenary sessions at the Conference (including panels, presentations and the debate) received highly positive ratings across the whole timetable. All sessions received an average rating of 3.1 to 3.7 (out of 4). This consistent range of high scores shows that the vigorous curation of the programme is highly effective in ensuring all sessions are of high quality, and are valued by the vast majority of participants. Particularly highly-rated were the opening keynote, the debate, the pair of presentations on transformative agreements, and the closing summary.
The highly interactive workshops were also all positively viewed, receiving an average rating of 3.3 to 3.9 (out of 4). Almost everybody rated their workshop positively, and for two of the five topics on offer, over 85% of the participants rated their workshop ‘Great’. Even in the lowest-scoring workshop, almost 80% of respondents rated it ‘Good’ or ‘Great’. As usual, nobody rated their workshop ‘Poor’.
Some people said that we did not allow enough time for their workshop topic, while others said they wanted to attend multiple shorter workshops, so perhaps we have the balance about right!
The R2R workshops are the most demanding part of our programme, both for the facilitators and the event management, but they are highly rewarding for the participants (and, usually, for the facilitators); we particularly welcome proposals for workshops in our Call for Papers.
“R2R workshops are always a delight”
“The workshops facilitated strong interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge and opinions”
“I thought the workshops were great”
The lightning talk sessions also received generally positive feedback, with average scores ranging from 3.1 to 3.7 (out of 4). The lightning talks are proving to be consistently (and increasingly) popular, even though some are purely commercial presentations.
Several people we unhappy that we scheduled the lightning talks during the breaks, but we want to keep commercial presentations optional for the delegates, and it is hard to see how we could integrate about 90 minutes of this material into the main programme. Video recordings of the lighting talks were made available soon after the Conference, so that people who wanted to focus on conversations with fellow participants on the day didn’t have to miss out on this content.
The overall format and timetable for the Conference was, however, positively reviewed by over 90% of respondents. We pack a lot into two days, and some people say that they find the timetable a bit intense (“It was a little bit too busy and full on”), but others seemed to like the energy this generates (“Fast paced, always something happening”). We will try to add a few extra breathing-spaces into the programme in future, while somehow keeping all the content!
The overall dates and duration for the event received 97% positive responses, with people generally liking the format of two full days, although there were some calls for an earlier start and finish on the second day (which was a bit late this year). A couple of people suggested some sort of pre-Conference on the Monday, and we will have a think about whether that might be desirable and manageable one day.
“Appreciate the plenary structure, and that you cram so much into two days”
“Good balance of formats (and breaks)”
“I liked the mix of standalone speakers and panels in the plenaries”
“Two days is the exactly right length”
“Liked the concentrated format”
“February is the perfect time for a conference”
We were also pleased (and relieved) to see that 86% of participants feel that the R2R Conference is good value for money. Events are continuing to get more expensive to deliver, as the cost of venues, catering and other aspects rise, but we try to keep ticket prices affordable, helped by the support from our sponsors.
The event administration, managed by The Events Hub, got 96% positive scores, the same as for 2023, with many very positive comments. There were also positive reactions to our Registration process (96%) and to our Marketing messages (81%) although a couple of people mentioned minor registration problems, or over-long marketing emails, and we will keep an eye on this.
“Very easy to register online”
“There were the right number of reminders to register”
“Promotion of R2R is good”
“Amazing staff”
“A great team”
The Conference venue (BMA House) got many positive comments during the event, and the catering received 95% positive ratings in the feedback survey, although a couple of people found the food too ‘experimental’ or ‘spicy’, and some said the coffee was cold. We are glad that our participants share our satisfaction with the venue.
“Food was great”
“Some of the best conference food I’ve had”
“The food is noticeably better than the typical conference food”
“The lunches were really tasty”
R2R works hard to host a very inclusive event within the scholarly communications community, and this includes the breadth of our scope, the diversity of our participants and the collaborative ethos that we try to maintain during the meeting. Encouragingly, there were many positive comments in the survey responses about this, including:
“Good mix of viewpoints, perspectives, and topics”
“The overall ‘vibe’ was friendly and open”
“Compared to other conferences, this feels much more collegiate and collaborative”
“A friendly atmosphere, with a good mix of new and returning delegates”
“Very relaxed and friendly”
Overall the survey results, and other feedback, suggest that the 2024 Researcher to Reader Conference was useful, enjoyable and good value for the overwhelming majority of participants. We are continuing to review all the feedback carefully to see what improvements can be made in future, to ensure that we keep up this very positive reputation.
R2R is having some email issues, around 13-15 February, with quite a lot of emails sent from admin@R2RConf.com or info@R2RConf.com ending up in ‘spam’ folders. Apparently this is something to do with a DMRAC record, whatever that is. We are working on a fix.
We are delighted to announce that Atypon has returned to sponsoring the Researcher to Reader Conference, with a Silver Sponsorship. Atypon is also sponsoring the Workshop Programme at the Conference.
Atypon’s Literatum does more than host scholarly content; it empowers partners to further research, amplify their impact, and connect with their communities, providing tools for accessibility, engagement, and revenue growth, all backed by technical expertise, ongoing investments, and a secure, scalable platform.
The Programmefor the R2R Conference, on 20-21 February in London, is available on the Conference website. Registrations are continuing to come in at a high rate, but some places are still available for people who wish to Register today.
The Researcher to Reader Conference has announced the 2024 Lightning Talks Programme. In addition to the plenary programme and choice of workshops at the Conference (taking place in London on 20-21 February), there will also be a series of Lightning Talks. These are given during the breaks in the main Conference timetable. These 5-minute Lightning Talks are likely to include:
RSC’s innovative open access model
Innovating with purpose & adaptability at Silverchair
KGL’s peer review services
Open Access book usage data
De Gruyter’s Subscribe to Open Programme
An overview of new Publisher/ECR initiatives
Bibliodiversity in the Directory of Open Access Books
The new co-review policy at IOP Publishing
The impact on research of the war in Ukraine
Recruitment and career progression in scholarly communications
The Bloomsbury approach to funding open access books
Connecting seminars to the scholarly literature with Cassyni
Plus potential additional presentations from Digital Science, Ex Ordo and EBSCO.
The Programmefor the R2R Conference, on 20-21 February in London, is available on the Conference website. Registering today is risk free, as full refunds are available until the end of January.
R2R is very pleased to announce that KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd (KGL) has become a sponsor of the 2024 Researcher to Reader Conference. PubFactory, which is part of KGL, has been a past sponsor, and we are delighted to now have the support of the entire KGL group.
KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd. (KGL) is the premier industry provider of editorial, peer review, production, management consulting, online hosting, association management, and transformative solutions for every stage of the content lifecycle. KGL unites content and technology expertise with over 200 years of experience serving the publishing market and is powered by intelligent solutions and delivery platforms including Smart Suite and PubFactory.
The Programmefor the R2R Conference, on 20-21 February in London, is available on the Conference website. Registering today is risk free, as full refunds are available until the end of January.
We are delighted to announce that the Society for Scholarly Publishing is sponsoring the Evening Reception at the 2024 Researcher to Reader Conference on 20 February.
The Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP), founded in 1978, is a nonprofit organization formed to promote and advance communication among all sectors of the scholarly publication community through networking, information dissemination, and facilitation of new developments in the field. SSP members represent all aspects of scholarly publishing—including publishers, printers, e-products developers, technical service providers, librarians, and editors. SSP members come from a wide range of large and small commercial and nonprofit organizations. “SSP is excited to have a presence at the 2024 Researcher to Reader Conference,” said Melanie Dolechek, SSP Executive Director. “The Conference aligns with SSP’s mission and our core value of bringing diverse stakeholders together to harness their collective knowledge and unique perspectives. Convening the full spectrum of stakeholders in the scholarly communications supply chain is an important component to solving the challenges facing our industry today and the R2R Conference provides an ideal opportunity to break down barriers and foster healthy communication.“ The 2024 SSP Conference is in Boston on 29-31 May.
The Programmefor the R2R Conference, on 20-21 February in London, is available on the Conference website. Registering today is risk free, as full refunds are available until the end of January.
Mark Carden 8 January 2024
(edited for a typographical error on 11 January 2024)
We are delighted to announce that Silverchair has returned as a sponsor of the Researcher to Reader Conference, which takes place in London on 20-21 February 2024.
Silverchair is the leading independent platform partner for scholarly and professional publishers, serving our growing community through flexible technology and unparalleled services. Silverchair builds and hosts websites, online products, and digital libraries for their clients’ content, enabling researchers and professionals to maximize their contributions to our world. Silverchair’s vision is to help publishers thrive, evolve, and fulfill their missions.
The Programme has recently been announced and is available on the Conference website. Registration is open, with early-bird discounts available until the end of November, with risk-free registration as full refunds are available until the end of January.
The full Programme for the Researcher to Reader Conference, which will take place in London on 20-21 February 2024, is now available on the website: www.r2rconf.com/r2r-conference-programme/
A few highlights are listed below:
Keynote:Antonia Seymour, CEO at IOP Publishing and President of the Publishers Association, will be giving us an inspiring opening presentation.
Debate: We will have Carnegie Mellon University Dean of Libraries, Keith Webster, arguing that academic libraries are no longer necessary, and CUP Academic Publishing MD, Mandy Hill, replying that they are very much needed.
Workshops: If you are tired of panellists waffling on about Artificial Intelligence, maybe it’s time to join the AI Workshop, to develop and agree some actions. Or you can explore: OA Books, Publishers & ECRs, Data Sharing or Peer Review.
Presentations: There will be informative presentations on transformative agreements in US universities, OA business models in South America, research integrity, and more…
Panels: There will be panel discussions on: innovative academic cultures, what people have learned working in multiple scholarly communications silos, and more…
People: The Presenters, Panellists, Moderators and Facilitators will include: Roheena Anand, Rick Anderson, Kaveh Bazargan, Björn Brembs, Gwen Evans, Lisa Hinchliffe, Michael Levine-Clark, Alison Mudditt, Kamran Naim, Makoto Yuasa, Hongliang Zhang, and many more…
Registration is open, with tax-free early-bird rates until the end of November, and generous discounts for academics & librarians. Registration is risk-free, as there is a 100% refund option until the end of January. www.r2rconf.com/r2r-registration/
Researcher to Reader Conference — London — 20-21 February 2024 
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