eLife has recently become a “Sustaining Member” of FORCE11, a community of scholars, librarians, archivists, publishers, and research funders who aim to support the improvement of modern scholarly communications through information technology.
Originating from the 2011 FoRC Workshop in Dagstuhl, Germany, FORCE11 now represents an open and vibrant movement with diverse stakeholders representing an array of scholarly disciplines, emerging technologies, policy development, funding mechanisms and publishing.
FORCE stands for “Future of Research Communication and e-Scholarship” and the work of this community is driven by four guiding principles: focusing on the future of research communication; being cross-disciplinary so that different communities can learn from one another; helping to mobilize new community initiatives; and being transparent and collaborative. FORCE11 does not advocate for any particular solution or approach but recognises that there is a vast amount that could be done to transform current practices for the better. From the FORCE11 Manifesto:
“A dispassionate observer, perhaps visiting from another planet, would surely be dumbfounded by how, in an age of multimedia, smartphones, 3D television and 24/7 social network connectivity, scholars and researchers continue to communicate their thoughts and research results primarily by means of the selective distribution of ink on paper, or at best via electronic facsimiles of the same.”
In addition to hosting an inspirational annual meeting (previously called “Beyond the PDF”), now preparing for its fifth year, FORCE11 has helped to coalesce a number of community groups to tackle specific issues, including groups working on the presentation and citation of data associated with research publications. One specific output has been the Joint Declaration of Data Citation Principles.
eLife also aims to leverage digital media to enhance the presentation and communication of important works. We do this through our own work – in eLife Lens, for example – but also through our work with other organisations.
Given the aims and achievements of FORCE11 to date, and the interests shared with eLife, we are delighted to be giving FORCE11 our support. We encourage other organisations and individuals to support FORCE11 and help to drive innovation in science communication.
