The International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM) recently convened exploratory workshops in London and Brussels to examine how scholarly publishers can contribute to access and use of trusted research during emergencies. The discussions involved organizations with experience in science advice, humanitarian response, policy, public communication, and research infrastructure, including DG ECHO, the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism, the European Parliament Research Service, the ISC, the UK Health Security Agency, CARA, CESAER, EASSH, Sense about Science, and UCL.
Participants emphasized that opening access to scholarly content is important but not sufficient on its own. They advised that rapid discovery, synthesis, translation, contextualization, and trusted pathways into decision‑making and public communication are also essential. The workshops highlighted the need to work with existing mechanisms rather than duplicate them, strengthen trusted intermediary networks, and prepare in advance for challenges such as multilingual communication, AI‑supported evidence discovery, local expertise, and the safeguarding of knowledge assets when research systems are disrupted.
STM will use the insights from these workshops to explore a potential coordinated publisher response model. This may include practical activation processes, governance structures, user pathways, and safeguards. The objective is to identify where publishers can add distinctive value within broader emergency response and science advice ecosystems, while ensuring that any future approach is trusted, proportionate, and aligned with user needs.
STM has invited feedback from members and partners as the Task & Finish Group continues its work, encouraging comments and expressions of interest to be shared with Sarah Phibbs.
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