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The Journal Publishing Practices and Standards (JPPS) framework, developed and now being implemented by African Journals Online (AJOL) and INASP has been chosen as a finalist for the 2018 ALPSP Award for Innovation in Publishing.

JPPS was developed in response to the challenges that journals in the developing world face in becoming known and respected in the international research landscape. It provides detailed assessment criteria for the quality of publishing practices of Global South journals.

The framework has been used to assess more than 900 journals published in the Global South across six national and regional Journals Online (JOL) platforms.

The JPPS levels, which are displayed on the journals’ pages on the JOLs as well as on the official JPPS site (www.journalquality.info), reassure readers and authors that journals meet an internationally recognized set of criteria. The detailed feedback from the JPPS assessment guides editors on ways to improve their publishing practices and standards acknowledges journals that have attained internationally recognized publishing standards.

In addition, INASP and AJOL work with journal editors and editorial boards to build capacity and knowledge in international publishing standards and the JPPS. Face-to-face training, mentoring support and online training using courses and materials have been developed specifically for journal editors working in developing-country contexts.

The ALPSP Awards recognize new developments, products, services, launches or projects that demonstrate excellence in terms of originality and innovation, significance and value to its community, utility and long-term viability. As a finalist, someone from the JPPS team will present a ‘flash session’ about JPPS at the ALPSP international conference in Berkshire, UK on 12-14 September 2018, where the winner of the award will also be announced.

JPPS was one of six projects chosen from 45 submissions.

“We are delighted to be selected as finalists for this award. We see this as recognition of the importance of working towards a more balanced global research system where the importance of the role played by good journals from all countries can be recognised,” said Susan Murray, Executive Director of AJOL.

“We thank ALPSP for this recognition and the opportunity to present at the ALPSP international conference on behalf of the hundreds of journal editors in Africa, Asia and Latin America who asked for an initiative like this and who have embraced JPPS since its launch,” added Sioux Cumming, Programme Specialist at INASP.

 

INASP and African Journals Online (AJOL) have awarded the first round of Journal Publishing Practices and Standards (JPPS) badges to journals on the Journals Online platforms from Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Mongolia and Central America.

JPPS is a detailed assessment framework and process for recognizing the quality of publishing processes in journals from the Global South. Using 108 detailed criteria, journals are awarded one of six JPPS badges. The purpose of the assessments and badges are two-fold: they provide a guide to authors and readers about journals they can trust and, importantly, they also provide a detailed report to guide journal editors in how to develop their journals. Journals are guided on where there are gaps in their processes or in the information on their websites and invited to resubmit their journals for reassessment, with evidence of developments, after six months.

Responses to the initial assessments from journal editors have been overwhelmingly positive. The JPPS team has received scores of emails thanking us for the detailed reports and the badges but also, in many cases, detailing the steps they plan to take to improve the qualities of their journal processes as a result of their initial reports.

“We are very pleased to be able to provide the initial JPPS badges and to receive such positive feedback from journal editors. It is very encouraging to see how JPPS aligns with editors’ own development plans and to be able to provide this international recognition for these journals,” commented Sioux Cumming, Programme Manager for the Journals Online project at INASP.

JPPS badges for African Journals Online are expected to follow later this year.

A full list of the journals with JPPS badges can be found here and can be sorted by country and level. Please note that the JPPS site and the Journals Online platforms are the only reliable sources of information about what JPPS badges journals have been awarded.

JPPS has been covered in an article on University World News by Susan Murray and Sioux Cumming.

New framework aims to assess and improve online journals

A wealth of research is being carried out in low- and middle-income countries, much of which has the potential to make a significant difference to the countries and regions it is carried out in….

Read the full article here.

JPPS has been covered in a new post on the widely read Scholarly Kitchen blog.

New Assessment Process Boosts Credibility of Developing-world Journals
New detailed assessments of journals in the Global South will provide reassurance to authors and readers and guide editors on how to improve their journals.

Click here to read the post by INASP’s Siân Harris.