Author: Felicia Bowling

Significant US research funding cuts still likely, but uncertainty remains

by Felicia Bowling

The NIH will restore 900 grants that were cut earlier this year under a recent court ruling. Other researchers have seen reversals in research cuts from other agencies, and courts are investigating cuts by NSF and others (e.g., this one and this one).

The cap of 15% on overhead at NSF and NIH is also on hold pending court decisions, but the uncertainty continues to negatively impact universities and research programs. There is speculation that the Trump administration may simply delay spending appropriated funds until close to the end of the fiscal year that ends 30 September 2025, at which point the funding would expire and be unavailable — a so-called ‘pocket impoundment’ that would have the same effect as cancelling grants without being subject to the same kinds of review.

There is also speculation that cuts may impact government subscriptions and purchases of information products from STM members. We’re working to determine the impact and reality of any such cuts and emphasise the importance of access to information for government scientists and decision-makers.

White House issues guidance on controversial ‘Gold Standard Science’

by Felicia Bowling

Following an executive order promoting ‘Gold Standard Science,’ the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has issued guidance for agencies on ‘incorporating Gold Standard Science tenets into their research activities.’ The original executive order raised concerns and debate in the scientific community, as these articles show:

The OSTP memo focuses on the ‘Tenets of Gold Standard Science’ that are key to research integrity without suggesting that research must be discarded if it does not 100% meet the criteria.

Agencies are directed to report on steps taken or planned to implement the guidance by 25 August. We’ll keep monitoring and engaging on these issues and keep our members informed of further developments.

STM APAC Conference – Advancing Open Science in the Region

by Felicia Bowling

On June 17, 2025, STM co-hosted its inaugural APAC Conference in Beijing in partnership with CNPIEC and supported by Society of China University Journals. Themed “Open Driven by Innovation,” the event brought together over 300 leaders in research, publishing, and library services to chart a collaborative, innovative future for open science in the Asia-Pacific region. 

Held immediately after PubTech and in the lead-up to the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF)—the world’s second-largest book fair—the STM APAC Conference is part of a joint initiative to foster international exchange and advance innovation in academic publishing. 

This milestone marked STM’s first regional event dedicated entirely to APAC—a region recognized for its innovation and growing global engagement. The conference emphasized the importance of regional strategies tailored to local contexts, and the value of international partnerships in building a more open, equitable research ecosystem. 

Here are a few highlights shared by CNPIEC: 

  • The event was opened by CEO Lin Liying of CNPIEC and hosted by Wu Shangzhi, President of the China Periodicals Association, who highlighted China’s commitment to contributing to global open science.
  • Professor Yang Wei of the Chinese Academy of Sciences called for affordable OA models for the Global South and emphasized the need for local publishing platforms to safeguard academic integrity and diversity.
  • STM CEO Caroline Sutton shared an overview of the global policy context outside of Asia and urged APAC stakeholders to develop regional solutions driven by technology and cooperation.
  • Panels, moderated by Mark Robertson (STM) and Zhang Tieming (CUJS), brought together global experts including representatives from Springer Nature, SAGE, DOAJ, ACS, and others. Discussions focused on sustainable open science, infrastructure development, and cross-border policy alignment.
  • The event emphasized that APAC’s success in open science will rely on collaboration, innovation, and inclusive knowledge sharing. 

 

 

PubTech 2025 – Technology Driving the Future of Academic Publishing

by Felicia Bowling

On June 16, 2025, STM supported the 3rd PubTech Conference in Beijing, aligning with global partners to explore how technological innovation is reshaping scholarly publishing. Organized by China National Publications Import & Export (Group) Co., Ltd. (CNPIEC) and co-organized with the Society of China University Journals and APPA Key Laboratory, this year’s PubTech focused for the first time on academic publishing, under the theme “Publishing’s Future Empowered by Technology.”

Held in the lead-up to the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF)—the world’s second-largest book fair—PubTech and the STM APAC Conference are two flagship events aimed at strengthening international collaboration and innovation in academic publishing. 

At PubTech, STM joined global colleagues to explore how technology is shaping the future of research communication. The conference offered a space for shared learning and collaboration across publishing and tech. STM was represented by Caroline Sutton, Mark Robertson, Sameer Puri, Lei Shi, Eric Na, and Shuai Yan. 

Here’s a summary from our partners at CNPIEC: 

The event brought together leading experts from global publishing houses, research institutions, and digital innovators. Keynotes addressed publishing integrity, corpus construction, and copyright protection. 

Highlights included: 

  • CEO Lin Liying of CNPIEC highlighted AI developments like the “Luffa” large language model and their growing role in scholarly communication.

  • STM CEO Caroline Sutton emphasized the publishing sector’s legacy of innovation and praised China’s investment in high quality scholarly publishing. 

  • Speakers from Elsevier, Clarivate, Wiley, and others shared visions for how AI and technology are transforming knowledge production, dissemination, and solutions.

Panels explored AI in research integrity, licensing, and corpus building, offering deep insights into future innovation pathways. 

New technologies unveiled included Clarivate’s Academic AI Platform, MDPI’s JAMS, CNPIEC’s Luffa AI Studio, and Scinapse from South Korea’s Pluto Labs. 

The conference welcomed over 300 attendees from across publishing, academia, and tech sectors worldwide.  

The following day, focus shifted to the APAC Conference — a second event dedicated to open science in the region. Learn more here. 

More on this event:
https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202506/25/WS685b976aa310a04af22c86ee.html  

https://www.stdaily.com/web/gdxw/2025-06/16/content_355512.html (in Chinese) 

STM commissions study to explore how publishers support research integrity 

by Felicia Bowling

Research communications today face growing, coordinated threats to their integrity—from paper mills and manipulated peer review to systemic pressures that can compromise trust. In response, STM’s Research Integrity Committee has commissioned Research Consulting to map how publishing organisations across the sector are working to safeguard the scholarly record.

In recent years, publishers have retracted thousands of articles (source: Retraction Watch Database), citing issues that range from honest error to deliberate misconduct. Strengthening research integrity has become an urgent, system-wide priority.

Governments, funders, and academic institutions have introduced measures to support integrity—such as transparency requirements and the use of persistent identifiers like ORCID.

Understanding the role of publishers in this broader ecosystem is essential for developing coordinated responses. Faced with a rise in bad actors, publishers have adopted a range of strategies.  Industry-wide initiatives such as the STM Integrity Hub and United2Act are taking practical and collaborative steps to address the drivers of research integrity misconduct.

Why this research matters 

While some publishers have made their approaches visible, many efforts remain within professional circles. As a result, there is no sector-wide overview of publisher-supported practices, limiting opportunities to identify what works and address gaps. The publishing community – including the full spectrum of commercial publishers, non-profit publishers, university presses and more – is especially interested in understanding how best to collaborate with other stakeholders to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.  This project aims to map integrity practices across different types of publishing organisations, whether directly led or as collaboration across publishers or with other stakeholders. The research will examine both established protocols adopted sector-wide and approaches to implementation that may be specific to certain disciplines or types of publishers.

Methodology and scope 

Research Consulting will combine desk research with interviews of publisher Research Integrity leads. The study will explore strategic drivers but also practical aspects, including:

  • Pre-publication screening and quality control processes
  • Technology adoption for integrity checks
  • Investigation procedures and post-publication actions
  • Collaboration with other stakeholders
  • Resource allocation and organisational structures

The findings will be compiled into a public report, featuring case studies that illustrate a range of approaches to upholding high levels of research integrity. STM hopes that this effort will support researchers, funders, academic institutions and policymakers as they continue working together to maintain the standard of quality expected by the research community and beyond.

Get involved 

If your organisation has developed integrity initiatives or if you have insights about publisher practices, we welcome your contribution. Please complete our form to contribute to this sector-wide mapping exercise.

The public report is expected in late 2025 – sign up for STM’s updates or follow us on LinkedIn or Bluesky to be notified when this is published.

What is next for AI and copyright in Europe?

by Felicia Bowling

The European Commission will soon launch a study to evaluate the 2019 EU Copyright Directive—examining its benefits, implementation challenges, and unresolved issues, particularly around text and data mining (TDM) exceptions for commercial and scientific research.

Beyond the evaluation, the Commission will explore potential new measures to support the development of a licensing market that enables access to high-quality data for AI development in Europe, while ensuring appropriate remuneration for creators. This will consider current licensing practices across sectors, content types, and AI applications.

Meanwhile, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee will continue work on its position throughout the summer. A draft report from MEP Axel Voss is expected to be presented on 14–15 July. STM is actively engaged in the process.

EU AI Act’s Code of Practice and summary of training content

by Felicia Bowling

Updates remain limited on the Code of Practice for General-Purpose AI and the accompanying template for a sufficiently detailed summary of training content. Both documents are currently with the EU’s new AI Office, which will consult the AI Board (Member State representatives) during June.

Latest reports suggest the Code, the summary template, and the General-Purpose AI guidelines (which STM provided input on in May) are expected to be published in early July. The AI Office has engaged bilaterally with model providers to secure support but has not yet disclosed key elements—especially copyright-related measures and the summary template—which may significantly influence whether companies decide to sign the Code.

STM, along with other rightsholder organisations, is urging the Commission for more transparency.

Consultation period on European Research Area Act opening soon

by Felicia Bowling

A call for evidence and a detailed questionnaire will be launched in the coming weeks on the official consultation page.

In parallel, a new study will begin to assess the economic impact of proposed measures—such as an EU-wide Secondary Publication Right and changes to copyright exceptions for scientific research—on stakeholders including publishers. It will be important for STM and its members to actively engage and provide input. The study will run through early 2026.

The impact assessment for the ERA Act must be completed by Q1 2026, with a formal proposal from the European Commission expected in Q3 2026.

 

EUIPO releases study on generative AI and copyright

by Felicia Bowling

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has published an extensive study exploring generative AI from a copyright perspective.

The report notes, among other challenges, that there is no common standard for disclosing synthetic content or expressing reservation of rights under the Copyright Directive’s Text and Data Mining exception. It also mentions several ongoing legal disputes between rightsholders and generative AI developers, as well as some cases where agreements have been reached.

The study ultimately suggests that public authorities can mitigate the issues of copyright and AI, both by establishing a database of TDM reservations and by raising public awareness of copyright issues surrounding generative AI.

What’s ahead for the EU research and innovation fund?

by Felicia Bowling

In her speech at the Annual EU Budget Conference, European Commission President Von der Leyen stated, “Our framework programme Horizon Europe will stay as a self-standing programme…tightly connected to our Competitiveness Fund. We need a seamless flow from fundamental research to applied research to start-ups to scale-up.”

This announcement inspired some relief among the research community, who interpreted it as a decision to keep FP10 independent of the Competitiveness Fund. However, some remain wary that the implementation details could undermine this autonomy.