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Economic Outlook for Scholarly Communications in 2026

This poll examines how professionals across the scholarly communications ecosystem are assessing the industry’s economic resilience in the year ahead. It will capture sentiment on financial outlooks, key economic pressures, and where institutions expect to prioritize investment amid shifting funding, policy, and technology dynamics.
1.How confident are you in the scholarly communications industry’s economic resilience for 2026?
2.Compared to 2025, how do you expect your organization’s financial position to change in 2026?
3.Which factors do you believe will have the greatest impact on the economy of scholarly communications in 2026? Select up to 3.(Required.)
4.In 2026, where do you expect your organization to prioritize spending or investing? Select up to two.(Required.)
5.How critical is it for the scholarly communications ecosystem to address each of these challenges in the near term (1-3 years) to ensure long-term economic viability?
Not at all critical
Slightly critical
Moderately critical
Very critical
Extremely critical
Quality, rigor, and timely retractions
Reproducibility
Reviewer fatigue, review quality, sustainability, and scalability
Predatory publishing, paper mills, and fraudulent research practices
Declining public trust in research and evidence-based knowledge
Workflow efficiency and operational scalability
Managing publication volume growth sustainably
Balancing speed of publication with quality and rigor
Workforce reskilling for digital, data, and AI-enabled workflows
Intellectual property protection in the context of AI and large-scale data mining
Political or governmental challenges to publisher independence
Threats to evidence-based knowledge from governments or public institutions
Academic freedom and protection for researchers
Accessibility compliance and inclusive design requirements
Open access mandates and evolving research policy requirements
DEIA-related backlash, policy shifts, or government intervention
Sustainable funding and revenue models
Misaligned research incentives (e.g., publish-or-perish pressures)
Institutional budget constraints affecting research, publishing, and access to content
Ethical use of AI in research and consumption/application of research
Job security