Research4Life: January 2025 Newsletter and Impact Report

1 February, 2025

Dear HIFA colleagues,

Research4Life has been a major player in accelerating progress towards universal access to reliable healthcare information, 'delivering free or low-cost online access to academic and professional peer-reviewed content, user-focused training, and relevant resources to researchers in lower income countries'.

Read their January Newsletter here: https://us9.campaign-archive.com/?e=0e1b774dc4&u=5002dae3992cb80ea5a0b5d...

They say "We’re excited to kick off the year with some incredible updates. Our Country Connector Program continues to grow, we are welcoming Angola and Uganda to the program. We’re also proud to share our first-ever Impact Report, which features highlights our achievements and the real-world impact of our work. In response to user requests for more Social Science and Humanities research, Liverpool University Press (LUP) has expanded access to its full journal collection for Research4Life users. Looking ahead, we’re hosting a workshop at the Researcher to Reader Conference on 25–26 February, where we’ll explore sustainable solutions to publishing disparities in LMICs..."

Research4Life has also published its 'First ever Impact Report'

Published: Thursday 2nd January 2025

You can download it here: https://www.research4life.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/RFL15326-Impact...

'For over twenty years, Research4Life has been helping individuals in educational, research, and policy institutions in 125 lower income countries to participate fully in the global scientific and research community. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), home to 85% of the world’s population, but just 0.2% of researchers, have been largely excluded from this participation. Our mission at Research4Life is to build an inclusive, diverse, and equitable scholarly communications environment by delivering free or low-cost online access to academic and professional peer-reviewed content, user-focused training, and relevant resources to researchers in lower income countries. Access to a wide pool of trusted, evidence-based, research information is essential for driving progress in research, education, and policy-making and driving sustainable development. [...]

'We are pleased to say that our efforts have truly made a significant difference in people’s lives. According to 2024 data from a WIPO study, access to research through Research4Life spikes research output by up to 75% in low- and middle-income countries.

'The Impact Report also tells the critical story of how we are transitioning Research4Life from content donation to fostering reciprocal engagement, in order to nurture rich and diverse scholarly exchange. We have made it our mission to increase representation and participation of researchers from LMICs in the research landscape.

'Research that addresses global challenges and also meets the needs of local and regional communities is crucial. Our aim is to significantly elevate voices and the presence of researchers from lower-income countries to the forefront of global research dialogue.

'From our work promoting the visibility and global reach of research from Bhutan, to helping develop solutions for internet accessibility in Liberia, the report features case studies based on interviews with people directly involved in the initiatives described. We identify lessons learned from these collaborations and offer inspiration for others.'

I was at the launch of Hinari (the first pillar of Research4Life, focusing on health) in 2000 at the British Medical Association, chaired by Richard Smith, then editor-in-chief of The BMJ. Congratulations to Barbara Aronson, Kimberly Parker and all for building Research4Life into such a successful and impactful initiative.

HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org