Scalable methodological model for fostering open access: findings from participatory research with stakeholders in the Polish publishing ecosystem

Two years ago, during the 17th Munin Conference, we presented the strategy for the Polish National Node for OPERAS (the poster can be found here). Our focus was on the publishing ecosystem – we aimed to recognise Polish publishers’ needs in the area of open access books and prototype useful tools and models to foster their transformation to open access. In the process, we diagnosed the biggest challenges on the way to the diamond model in book publishing and together with the stakeholders drafted solutions and started a collaborative effort to implement them in the future. In this contribution to the 19th Munin Conference, we will share our insights from this study, however, our focus will be on a scalable methodological model we applied rather than the outcome of the OPERAS-PL collaboration with publishers (for the project results see Wnuk et al. 2023 and Wnuk et al. 2024). The research results will be presented briefly to demonstrate the model’s accuracy, usability, and usefulness for the research objectives. To understand the communities’ day-to-day practice, needs, and challenges we conducted a pilot study applying a participatory research approach (Bergold & Thomas 2012). The stakeholders were invited and encouraged to share their opinions and know-how in a series of research activities. The study implemented three methods: 1) survey, 2) semi-structured interviews, and 3) a design thinking workshop. Thanks to the survey, we identified stakeholders willing to collaborate and share their insights in open access publishing. We learned their publishing scope and models of funding open access. For the second phase, we selected stakeholders to share their opinions in an in-depth interview regarding their publishing practices. The third phase provided insight into publishers’ needs, expectations, and ways of thinking about possible solutions. The research activities were concluded with a collaborative effort to keep the working group (simply called OA Publishers – “Wydawnictwa OA” in Polish) and seek opportunities to implement some of the designed solutions. The study was based on the principles of transparency, diversity, and equity, however, it protected the participants’ rights to anonymity and secrecy of their business models. We will present the research methodology informed by participatory research in the format of an open workflow, consisting of research data such as survey questions, interview scenarios, and design thinking methods. The objective of the presentation will be to provide the audience with a ready-to-use tool to emulate and adjust to their potential needs. The methodology can be reused for similar initiatives which strive to recognise and facilitate scholarly communication practices in their communities. The main target audiences of the model are: applied social sciences research teams and NGOs. The presentation will contribute to the conference discussions with a proven methodology for engaging crucial stakeholders in developing solutions that will serve them.