“We think open science is the new normal”

Is it possible to change the ways of academic publishing? At least we need to try, says Library Director Wilhelm Widmark when presenting Stockholm University's new publishing platform SU Dynamica at a lunch seminar.

Photo: Magnus Johansson, Anna Allergren and Cecilia Burman

As part of working towards an open scientific system, Stockholm University has taken part in developing a publishing platform together with the company SciFree. The aim is to offer an alternative publishing route instead of via the commercial publishers.

– Our mission at Stockholm University is to build infrastructures and services to help the researchers make the cultural change. That is why we are trying a platform like Dynamica, says Wilhelm Widmark, Library Director and Senior Advisor for Open Science at Stockholm University. 

Wilhelm Widmark, överbibliotekarie
Wilhelm Widmark. Photo: Cecilia Burman

– We think that open science is the new normal.

With a major number of transformative agreements in place in Sweden, Wilhelm Widmark argues for the next step.

– The government has a goal that we in 2026 publish all data and code as open as possible and as closed as necessary. We have to put pressure on the publishers about their business models. We know they have really big revenues. What are we paying for? We need to be ready to walk away from the negotiating table, because if we don’t act there will be no transformation.

 

Faster peer-review process

Daniel Aili, Professor at Linköping University and one of the peer-reviewers connected to SU Dynamica, argues that publishing is the quota of the researchers. Number of papers, number of citations and in what journals you’re published is what counts, since it’s the easiest way to quickly make a valuation of someone’s work. 

A system which relies a lot on money – you pay to publish – and the unpaid, unrecognized work of peer-reviewers, he argued. It is also a very long time-line from having the manuscript ready until it gets published, often from six months up to two years. 

– Whatever we can do to simplify the reviewer-process and make things move faster, would save us time. Another thing that can be considered as an issue here is the lack of transparency. This stands in contrast to other aspects of research, where we advocate for openness and transparency. 

– Traditionally the peer-reviewers are anonymous, and we are not allowed to take part in the scientific discussion and comments, because the peer review is never published, says Daniel Aili. 

The incentives are there and also the technology. Dynamica is an exciting example of how this can be implemented.

Daniel Aili. Photo: Magnus Johansson

In SU Dynamica, which is currently only open to submitting authors of Stockholm University, the peer-review is open, and the tool automatically matches submitted manuscripts with suitable peer-reviewers based on their previous experience in a field, or asked by the authors themselves. Since there’s no editor in charge or specific journal to take in account, the process of publishing is much faster – and with zero cost for the author. 

So, what prevents us from changing the system? Daniel Aili asks. 

– I don’t know, to be honest. The incentives are there and also the technology. Dynamica is an exciting example of how this can be implemented. I think the work you’re doing here at Stockholm University is really pioneering.

 

SU Dynamica – how it works

The platform is for everyone, all disciplines, no matter what field you’re in. Within the platform there is a help center and you can anonymously tell the developers what you want to get better, or what your needs are. The founder of SciFree and creator of SU Dynamica, PhD Abeni Wickham, makes a point that the platform is built on the assumption that researchers themselves are very much in charge.

Abeni Wickham. Photo: Anna Allergren

– The first thing you probably want to know is ‘what can you publish?’ The answer is anything, as long as you’re adding knowledge to your field. It is not my job, and it’s not Stockholm University’s job, nor an editor’s job, to tell you what you know is best for your field. Stockholm University is just making sure they give you the platform to show the world what you are really good at. 
 
– I’m an academic that left academia to build tools for university libraries, and I was able to build it with researchers and libraries together. But now it is your turn at Stockholm University to tell the world what you need. And you have a great chance to create a system that can be used worldwide, says Abeni Wickham.

Seminar about SU Dynamica

This article is a summation of the seminar “The new publishing platform Dynamica and why you want to use it”, held at Stockholm University Library 14 March, 2023. Speakers at the seminar were:

  • Wilhelm Widmark, Library Director and Senior Advisor for Open Science at Stockholm University
  • Daniel Aili, Professor at Linköping University in the division of Biophysics and Bioengineering, and Head of Laboratory of Molecular Material
  • Abeni Wickham, founder of Scifree and creator of SU Dynamica

Learn more & FAQ

Do you want to learn more about SU Dynamica? Watch this 15-minutes video where Abeni Wickham gives you an introduction. 

During the seminar there were a lot of questions from the audience. Some of them are answered in the FAQ on the website of SU Dynamica. 

FAQ Dynamica

General FAQ

Author FAQ