We worked closely this year with the employee-led Reward Review Working Group to establish fair and transparent pay and reward structures. An external consultancy (ECC) was commissioned to support IDS to develop clear structures, policy and processes around pay and progression, and that work is continuing.
We have consulted extensively across IDS and worked closely with our unions to update job descriptions and implement a new job evaluation process.
We commissioned an Equity and Inclusion Review to explore how current systems, structures, policies and practices at IDS promote or inhibit a sense of equity, inclusion and belonging. This explored the breadth of protected characteristics, with a focus on race and whiteness, and power dynamics. It has been published online along with an action plan that is now under implementation.
IDS transition to Open Access publications and compliance with Plan S
The transition to Open Access publications continues apace. IDS is enhancing our academic knowledge access and dissemination by making publications available to all, where possible, including those who lack the financial means to access pay-per-view platforms.
Under Plan S, all articles and books from research funded by the participating funders must be published only in fully Open Access journals. Authors can choose to publish either the final version of their work after paying the Article/Book Processing Charge – APC (the Gold model), or the pre-final version before editorial intervention at no cost (the Green model).
In response to the transition to the Plan S initiative for Open Access publishing, the percentage increase of open licences as opposed to closed trebled between 2020 and 2022. The Publications Team has evolved its existing institutional frameworks and practical guidelines to help IDS authors navigate Open Access publishing and continue to be responsive to ongoing changes in all scholarly communications requirements.