Reforms in Peer Review: What the Experts Say and How You Can Get Involved

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The RoRI Peer Review project just released a landmark report on the future of peer review to spark global conversations. As a contributor, I am sharing the key takeaways and how Access 2 Perspectives is helping shape this evolution.

Last year, I had the privilege of participating in the RoRI Peer Review project, an initiative to which experts from across the scholarly communication ecosystem contributed to rethink the future of peer review. This week, the project leads published two groundbreaking outputs:

  1. A landmark report outlining radical, system-wide pathways for reforming peer review: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.32685351
  2. A detailed working paper presenting the findings from expert interviews—including mine—which served as the empirical foundation for the report: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.32685546%0A

The project’s findings are nothing short of transformative. They challenge the status quo and propose bold, innovative models for peer review that prioritize transparency, equity, and collaboration. If you are involved in scholarly publishing, research evaluation, or academic integrity, this is a conversation you want to be part of.

A Voice for Equity in Scholarly Communication

With our consultancy and training organization and our partners at Access 2 Perspectives, we have long advocated for peer review systems that are inclusive, accessible, and aligned with the values of open science. As part of our work for the continental research repository AfricArXiv and in partnership with Eider Africa, TCC Africa, eLife and PREreview, we developed the multilingual train-the-trainer guide Open Peer Reviewers in Africa, https://repository.africarxiv.org/handle/1/1536 and have launched a Mapping initiative on Peer Review resources, featured as a FORCE11 project: https://access2perspectives.org/peer-review-resources/.

Being one of the expert contributing to the RoRI Peer Review project, Dr. Jo Havemann’s input naturally focused on:

  • The barriers marginalized researchers face in traditional peer review.
  • How diverse perspectives can strengthen the integrity of scholarly publishing.
  • The role of community-driven models in creating fairer evaluation systems.

The project’s final report reflects many of these themes, and I am excited to see these ideas gaining traction in the global discourse.

Why This Matters for You

Whether you’re a researcher, publisher, funder, or policy-maker, the RoRI report offers actionable insights for reimagining peer review. But where do we go from here.

At Access 2 Perspectives, we’re already putting these ideas into practice. We offer:

  • Consulting services to help organizations redesign their peer review processes.
  • Training and workshops on inclusive scholarly communication.
  • Community-building initiatives to foster collaboration across disciplines.

If you’re inspired by the RoRI report and want to explore how we can support your goals—whether in peer review, open access, or research integrity—let’s talk. The future of scholarly communication is collaborative, and we’d love to hear your vision.

Next Steps

If you are curious about how Access 2 Perspectives can help you navigate these changes, here is how to get in touch with us:

Let’s continue the conversation and turn these revolutionary ideas into reality—together.

P.S. Upon reading the RoRI landmark report, what changes would you like to see in peer review? Share your thoughts with us or tag us on LinkedIn!

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