How does scientific publishing really work?

Models, weight of major publishers, fraud, article evaluation, open access, diamond path: this Grand Conversation, the show by The Conversation and CanalChat in partnership with the Academy of Sciences, aims to shed light on a little-known world to the general public, but crucial for the future of research.

Researchers produce articles, often voluntarily review those of their peers, and contribute to the formatting of publications. However, the dissemination of these works is controlled by commercial publishers. With the rise of open access, a new model has emerged: APCs, publication fees that researchers or their institutions must pay to make their articles accessible.

Result: the system now combines two paid logics. Institutions continue to pay subscriptions, while increasingly funding APCs. In France, these fees could exceed 50 million by 2030. In addition, nearly 90 million euros in journal subscriptions. Economically unsustainable…

Solutions exist, such as the free scientific publishing model of the Academy of Sciences and CNRS, free for authors and readers. But they are slow to materialize. Why? What are the logics that lead researchers to continue playing the APC game? How can we promote open access? Our two guests, researcher Patrick Couvreur and Director of Heritage and Scientific Resources at the Academy of Sciences Justine Fabre, help us see more clearly in this new episode of The Grand Conversation.