Four major scientific societies have established BioCore: A Scholarly Publishing Consortium to reinforce society-led publishing and uphold research integrity in the biological and biomedical sciences.
The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR), Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine (SEBM), and the Shock Society have jointly introduced BioCore: A Scholarly Publishing Consortium, a collaborative framework designed to strengthen society-led publishing. The initiative seeks to uphold publishing integrity, expand the reach and influence of society journals, ensure long-term financial sustainability, and enhance the collective presence of scientific societies and their research communities.
The initiative defines three central principles guiding the work of scholarly societies: reinvesting surplus resources into the scientific community, maintaining the highest standards of research integrity, and representing scientists’ shared commitment to advancing human knowledge. BioCore is intended to reinforce these principles by enabling societies to collaborate on sustainable publishing models, expand avenues for disseminating research, and foster trust across the scientific ecosystem. The consortium is structured as an entity owned and governed by its member societies, supported by shared staff and resources to extend impact and uphold research integrity in scholarly communication.
In response to ongoing commercial consolidation and pressures on independent journals, BioCore provides a cooperative, society-first solution adaptable to various publishing partnerships. Participating societies plan to enhance resilience and financial stability through shared expertise and resources, maintain rigorous standards of research quality and trustworthiness, reinvest publishing revenues into programs that directly support the scientific community, and ensure that society perspectives remain represented in global publishing and policy discussions.
The framework emphasizes sustaining discipline-specific communities such as reproductive biology, advancing multidisciplinary research across biology and medicine, and fostering accessibility and long-term viability for society publishers. It also underscores the importance of ensuring that critical research continues to reach both the scientific community and broader beneficiaries, including those affected by conditions such as shock, trauma, sepsis, and critical illness.
BioCore has been presented as a coordinated response to publisher consolidation, evolving challenges in research integrity, and growing threats to mission-driven publishing. Through this initiative, FASEB, SSR, SEBM, and the Shock Society affirm the continued role of society journals as trusted venues for high-quality research and of scientific societies as essential communities for advancing biological and biomedical knowledge.
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