2025-2026
Committee Roster
Andrew Joseph, Co-Chair (andrew DOT joseph AT wits DOT ac DOT za)
Michael Duckworth, Hong Kong, Co-Chair (duckwort AT hku DOT hk)
Frances Pinter, Central European
Shannon Kneis, Manchester
Dean Smith, Duke
Sarah Phibbs, Research4Life
Suzanne Guiod, Bucknell
Board Liaison
Anthony Cond, Liverpool
Central Office Liaison
Peter Berkery
Charge
General Objective:
- It is an underacknowledged fact that, following a period of rapid expansion, the Global South now has more than three times the number of higher education institutions than the Global North. Yet in many countries a mission-centred university press landscape has not yet fully emerged or else is limited by funding, politics or available infrastructure. As a result, the fruits of Global South research are often published via large commercial publishers from Europe and the US.
- As a genuinely international, mission-driven organisation AUPresses has explored this issue previously via a single-year pilot global partnerships programme. Building upon the lessons learnt from that experience, the Association will now establish a Taskforce to identify the appropriate models for collaboration with nascent and established university presses in the Global South.
The Global Partnerships Task Force will:
- Map the university press landscape in the Global South.
- Assist with identifying and facilitating relationships with key strategic partners in the region – publishing associations, national libraries, national research bodies, international publishing organisations (Crossref, ORCiD etc).
- Consider the most equitable models for collaboration between AUPresses, its members and presses in the Global South, recognising the different contexts for the different regions of the Global South.
- Propose a capacity building program for selected UPs to ensure sustainability.