Antonia Seymour on why publishers matter

Antonia Seymour, Chief Executive of IOP Publishing, has used her inaugural speech as president of the Publishers Association to highlight the growth of science and the value of publishing.

Seymour succeeds Nigel Newton, Chief Executive of Bloomsbury Publishing, who remains an Officer of the Publishers Association. The Presidency transferred to Seymour at the Annual General Meeting, where Perminder Mann, Chief Executive of Bonnier Books, was also elected to the position of Publishers Association Vice-President.

You can read the full speech below.

“Hello everyone. I am delighted, and excited, to be taking up the position of President of the Publishers Association from today.

I’d like to thank the PA staff and members for giving me this opportunity and to use this platform to tell you a little bit more about what matters to me as a publishing lifer. I am proud to have worked my whole career in academic publishing.

I’ll start with what most excites me right now – the growth of Science and the vital role that publishers play in that growth.

Ground-breaking scientific advances in Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, Space, and Green Energy.

I have to pinch myself that I work for the Institute of Physics whose members are at the forefront of these discoveries and that to be publishing world firsts in IOP Publishing’s internationally respected portfolio of journals, books and scientific news services.

The PA has been campaigning for some time now on the Value of Publishing and for me this is the single most important thing the PA can and should be doing for its members.

Publishers are uniquely placed to make a positive difference in society. We need to do a better job of articulating that as we’re not always recognised for the contribution and investments we make.

There are increasing examples in the education and academic sector of policymakers, funders and universities going around us. We need to work hard to prove that publishers of all shapes and sizes are indispensable. The industry’s record-breaking growth in 2022 gives us a great platform to speak from.

I’m obviously coming at this from the academic publishing perspective but a lot of what I’m going to talk about today applies more widely so I want to reassure you from the get go that I’ll be championing publishing in its broadest sense during my term as President.

It will include continuing the work that’s lead up to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill coming out today; continuing the PA’s great work on content protection and enforcement; and furthering our sustainability efforts, to mention just a few things.

But to come back to science for a moment.

All over the world, governments are placing an emphasis on ensuring their nation is innovation-driven and that their science and technology expertise is being used to solve challenges and develop new sources of growth and prosperity.

Here in the UK, government is putting innovation front and centre with its new science superpower vision.

Scientific publications are integral to that global science system. As the world’s research output continues to grow every year, the role of scientific publications in ensuring trust, access to, and impact of science has never been more critical.

Whilst the UK continues to punch above its weight in terms of research productivity and influence, it continues to lose ground, most notably to China and more recently India who are investing heavily in national R&D capacity.

The UK government, universities, the research community and publishers need to work together if we’re to cement the UK’s place as a global science and technology superpower by 2030. We, the PA stand ready as an essential partner in achieving that superpower vision.

We’re fortunate to have the right honourable Lord David Willetts with us today. In his role as Minister for Universities and Science from 2010-2014, Lord Willetts saw open access as an enabling strategy that could unlock innovation and knowledge transfer.

10 years on and 95% of UK-authored research is published open access. What a tremendous example of what can be achieved when stakeholders in the research ecosystem work together to achieve a common goal.

Conducting science more openly undoubtedly accelerates scientific discovery. But doing so doesn’t necessarily mean that research has Impact.

There is plenty of data that shows that the final published version – known as the version of record – achieved via gold open access – is more discoverable, readable, citable, connected and credible than an accepted manuscript in a repository (so called Green open access).

How we make research openly available and how it is communicated is critical to its impact on science and society. Research dissemination being a planned process that academic publishers do really well.

Publishers pour time and money into developing new ways for students, researchers, librarians and the general reader to find and use content.

All so we can help researchers maximise their personal contribution to the world’s scientific understanding.

All so we can help create impact for those investing in R&D.

All so we can showcase the best research.

One of the ten points of the UK government’s new Science and Technology framework talks about “Showcasing the UK’s Science and Technology strengths and ambitions at home and abroad to attract talent, investment and boost our global influence.”

Publishers are central to that showcasing. Our journals and books showcase the best research to a global audience in a world of misinformation and fake news. We are responsible as publishers for quality control.

Publishers are working hard to clamp down on individual malpractice and industrial-scale fraud which is threatening trust in science like never before.

But this issue isn’t one for publishers to tackle alone. We need to think about why this is happening.

The integrity challenges we deal with start earlier in the process where research is done.

We need a joined-up approach that involves funders, universities, the corporate sector, researchers, and publishers. Initiatives like the UK Committee on Research Integrity help to support this, and I’m delighted to say now involves publishing representation.

It’s worth saying too that integrity concerns absolutely aren’t unique to the academic publishing sector. AI generated text is top of mind for all publishers right now.

Whilst AI tools like ChatGPT can inspire creativity and transform businesses if done right, there are also many more sinister implications. Everyone is talking about this technology and how it will impact research, education, business and society.

Which brings me on to future-critical skills. The publishing industry must continue to evolve at pace as new technologies and new ways of life emerge.

Academic, education and consumer publishers are all now dealing with digital at scale with millions of users generating massive amounts of data.

That data is so precious – used well it will help us to ramp up the service we deliver to our authors, and readers. It means investing in data literacy and sales and marketing automation.

In 2022 the PA undertook a skills gap survey amongst members and will shortly be releasing the results of that work.

Here is a sneak peak:
Over half of publishers surveyed have vacancies that are proving difficult to fill. Those vacancies tend to be in technology and core central functions such as finance and marketing.

The main technical skill lacking was ‘data analysis/analytics/data science skills’ which a large majority *67%* selected. Plugging this gap will be crucial to the future publishing market and is needed right now.

Publishers need to start looking for talent that doesn’t fit the same mold as the talent that has historically come knocking at our door. We have to search in different places and change our recruitment practices to reflect this. Opening our doors to more unique and diverse voices.

And of course, the PA’s Inclusivity Action Plan is a key driver for furthering progress in diversity and inclusion within the industry’s workforce.

Many of the capabilities we’re looking for in our businesses whether you’re large/small, academic, consumer or education, mirror the skills that government need for innovation and growth in the UK.

We see an overlap of skills shortages in data science, AI and technology. Promoting the publishing industry as a great sector to work in will thread through my PA presidency.

The publishing industry directly employs 50,000 people in the UK and supports more than 70,000 jobs, but it’s fair to say that most young people don’t immediately think of publishing as a career option.

I was lucky that my university career services highlighted scientific publishing as an option for me when I was considering what next. That doesn’t often happen, so I hope we can do more to educate the next generation.

Individual publishing houses all work on their own employee value proposition, but what we urgently need is an industry value proposition. One that challenges some of the common myths and assumptions about the publishing industry.

Another reason why The Value of Publishing work that the PA has been undertaking is so central to ensuring a future where the UK publishing industry continues to thrive.

I want to leave you then with three key messages:

1. ) Publishers matter – we all know the work we do has purpose, that’s a big part of why we went into publishing in the first place, but let’s make sure everyone else knows that. As an example, if the UK government wants to be a science superpower then we need to make them aware there’s a thriving UK publishing industry they can look to to help them achieve that.
2. ) We need an industry value proposition that excites people from all walks of life to want to work in publishing. Let’s set out our stall and make it clear we’re an industry open to everyone.
3. ) Under the auspices of the PA, the UK publishing community can speak with a single voice on these issues that matter to all of us – large/small, academic, education and consumer – giving us the very best chance of being heard by government, and other key parties, and helping ensure our rightful place as an indispensable partner in the knowledge economy.

Thank you for listening and I look forward to serving you over the next 12 months, working closely with Dan, who’s had an excellent first few months in the job, and with the rest of the PA staff, and with my fellow officers Nigel and Perminder.”

This speech was delivered by Antonia Seymour at the Publishers Association’s Annual General Meeting which was held on Tuesday 25 April.