The Springer Nature research advisory councils and forums bring together a select group of external stakeholders from each of the countries and regions listed below. The annual meetings of these advisory groups allow research leaders, selected experts and representative early career researchers in each country or region to share knowledge, expertise, and best practices in advancing research and help inform Springer Nature on how best to serve the needs of the country or region as a whole, and the stakeholders they represent.
In a period of unprecedented change and progress for research and scholarly communications, it has never been more vital for us to understand and support the needs of key stakeholders in the research ecosystem – including research funders, institutions, policy makers and other organisations that champion and lead research and researchers.
Since their establishment, these advisory groups have proved to be incredibly valuable engines of innovation and collaboration to support Springer Nature's mission to be part of progress through the research ecosystem. Specific examples of impactful initiatives vitally informed by advice from these groups include:
- the facilitation of equitable reading and publishing in the US through a transformative agreement with Lyrasis
- a collaboration with the International Science Council to better support refugee and displaced researchers through improving access to research resources and providing platforms where such researchers can tell their stories and gather support
- the initiation of more systematic engagement mechanisms to centralise the voice of African research in addressing the barriers that impact researchers from the region.
