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June 2025 Training Series: Changing Behavior in Scholarly Communications

June 2025 Training Series: Changing Behavior in Scholarly Communications

March 2025
Course Facilitator, Jennifer Gibson, Founder and Executive Director, Dryad

Scholarly communication is an evolving landscape, yet changing long-established patterns is a challenge. How do we convince faculty to embrace open research practices? How do we encourage administrators to invest in new publishing models? And how can we apply proven strategies to successfully drive behavior change in our field?

One answer lies in social marketing—a concept borrowed from consumer marketing but tailored for research and academia. Originally coined in the 1990s in public health, social marketing has been used to promote behaviors such as seatbelt use and vaccination adoption. In the scholarly world, it provides a framework for shaping researcher behavior, promoting new services, and maximizing outreach effectiveness.

NISO’s upcoming training series, Secrets to Changing Behavior in Scholarly Communication, will explore how to apply social marketing strategies to scholarly communication. Facilitated by Jennifer Gibson, Executive Director of Dryad and a seasoned expert in open research communication, this course will introduce participants to strategic interventions, audience engagement techniques, and persuasive messaging methods to drive action in scholarly environments.

Over four interactive sessions, participants will gain tools to:

  • Identify opportunities to shift researcher behaviors.
  • Segment audiences based on their needs and motivations.
  • Craft compelling messages that resonate with different stakeholders.
  • Develop a marketing and outreach plan that achieves real impact.
  • Measure and refine strategies for continuous improvement.

With a mix of presentations, invited speakers, breakout discussions, and hands-on exercises, this course offers a practical and engaging learning experience for those looking to influence decision-making, improve scholarly engagement, and amplify research communication efforts.

Dates: Thursdays in June (June 6, 13, 27), except for the week of June 19

Special Session: To honor Juneteenth, the session for that week will take place on Wednesday, Jun 18, 2025

Time: 11:00 AM EDT

Class Duration: 90 minutes

Join this four-week training series and gain the tools to create real change in the scholarly community. Register now and master the art of behavior change in scholarly communication!