The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) plays a pivotal role in advancing the quality and integrity of South Africa’s research publishing ecosystem. At the heart of this effort is the National Scholarly Editors’ Forum (NSEF), a strategic platform managed by ASSAf that unites editors of accredited South African scholarly journals. The NSEF serves as a professional and advisory body that fosters editorial excellence, upholds ethical publishing standards, and facilitates collaborative responses to challenges within the scholarly communication system.

The importance of this work is underscored by ASSAf’s landmark consensus study, Twelve Years Later: Second ASSAf Report on Research Publishing in and from South Africa (2018). The report provides a critical assessment of the country’s publishing landscape, highlighting progress since ASSAf’s first publishing report in 2006 (Report on a Strategic Approach to Research Publishing in South Africa) while drawing attention to persistent and emerging challenges. These include the rise of predatory publishing, questionable editorial practices, and an increasingly complex transition to open science and open access models.

The study made it clear that scholarly publishing is foundational to South Africa’s development, requiring stronger safeguards, quality assurance mechanisms, and policy alignment across the system. Among its eight headline recommendations, the report called for:

• A rational, open access-aligned national journal system.
• The development of a transparent framework for article processing charges (APCs).
• A regional and continental strategy for African-led scholarly publishing infrastructure.
• Expanded indexing in platforms like SciELO SA.
• Enhanced public engagement with scientific research.

The NSEF is central to the implementation of many of these recommendations. It provides a consultative structure through which ASSAf works with editors, universities, government departments (notably the DHET), and research funders to:

• Promote responsible editorial practices and guard against unethical behaviours such as publication cartels and excessive self-publication.
• Strengthen peer review processes and transparency.
• Align journal practices with international best practices and open science principles.

Through the ongoing work of ASSAf through the NSEF, South Africa is developing a more coherent, ethical, and inclusive scholarly publishing environment. This partnership ensures that policy, practice, and infrastructure evolve in tandem, and that the country’s research outputs contribute meaningfully to local and global knowledge systems.

The NSEF is governed by the NSEF Terms of Reference (revised 2025).

Access proceedings and presentations from past NSEF meetings: