Towards an inclusive and distributed ecosystem of design scientific publishing. Advancing assessment models for design journals

This doctoral research investigates the current landscape of design scientific publishing. By analyzing 92 open-access design journals worldwide, the research identifies current trends and patterns in design publishing. It sheds light on the main challenges faced by the design publishing ecosystem today, investigating the limitations of power dynamics within the publishing industry, level of accessibility to knowledge, inclusivity and knowledge assessment practices. The implications of such challenges, as well as the impact of current publishing models on design dissemination structures, are critically examined. This research aims to explore and raise awareness within the design scientific community about the need to design a more transparent, inclusive and distributed ecosystem for design scientific publishing. Among the challenges raised by the analysis, the research focuses on two main themes, which are strictly interconnected: 1. Distributed leadership and inclusivity in design production; 2. More transparent assessment models in knowledge. These key issues have been identified and examined in depth as the transformation of knowledge assessment models is intrinsically related to improving knowledge accessibility and addressing traditional hierarchies present in the current structures of design publishing. Therefore, to promote greater inclusivity of design pluriversality and foster access to design knowledge, assessment is a key factor of transformation. The discussion over assessment models and traditional peer review processes is crucial in introducing the rise of alternative assessment models like the Collaborative Review (Co.Re) Model, prototyped and presented in this research.