Consensus Statement
In May 2023, 40 stakeholders came together to formulate the United2Act Consensus Statement and its five working groups.
The participants of the United2Act Summit agreed on five key collaborative multi-stakeholder actions to address the problem of paper mills.
Five key action areas
In May 2023, a diverse group of research bodies, publishers, investigative researchers, universities, and publishing infrastructure leaders from 15 countries convened at the inaugural United2Act summit. This gathering resulted in a Consensus Statement that identifies five pivotal action areas, that now guide our ongoing efforts.
1. Education and awareness
To create new educational tools and resources, and to promote education and awareness activities to make researchers, journal editors, reviewers, journals, and publishers aware of the problem of paper mills.
2. Improve post-publication corrections
To investigate and agree ways to improve communication with those who report misconduct to journals, and to agree ways in which the correction of the literature can be speeded up when misconduct is discovered.
3. Research on paper mills
To work with interested parties to facilitate and organise research to be carried out on paper mills, with particular attention to regional and subject specific aspects.
4. Enable the development of trust markers
To work with the various suppliers who are developing tools which verify the identity of authors, reviewers, and editors to ensure that the solutions work for the variety of authors and author choices and are fit for purpose.
5. Facilitate dialogue between stakeholders
Continue to facilitate dialogue between stakeholders about the systematic manipulation of the publication process, bringing together the many voices in this area through joint projects and initiatives.
Working groups
Delve deeper to learn more about what’s being done in these five action areas, what’s soon to come, and how you can stay informed about this growing movement.
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