11 December 2023
Research4Life has announced that IOP Publishing will be making donations originating from a unique source – the Article Publication Charges (APCs) from retracted papers. IOP Publishing has pledged to continue channelling future APCs from retracted papers to Research4Life.
APCs, charged by publishers to fund the publication of open access scholarly articles, present a complex issue when associated papers are retracted.
Miriam Maus, Chief Publishing Officer at IOP Publishing said: ‘On occasions articles are retracted from the scholarly record because of misconduct – for example because of plagiarism, or they’ve come from a papermill. We can’t refund the money to the authors for obvious reasons, but it isn’t right for us to keep it. So we have donated to Research4Life’.
Research4Life faces substantial resource challenges. Currently serving over 15,000 institutions in lower- and middle-income countries, our mission is far reaching, and we aim to accomplish much more. To fully realize our potential and maximize impact, scaling up is essential. This involves expanding the outreach programs, enhancing training activities, and upgrading critical infrastructure such as computer systems and technical support.
"Donations, such as this one from IOP Publishing, coupled with contributions to our ‘Friends of Research4Life’ program, are critical in supporting our mission. These funds support the pivotal activities and crucial operations of our organization, enabling us to empower researchers around the world to address societal challenges."