Academic journals must become more “activist” if they are to survive, seeking to “change the direction of society” rather than “passively waiting” for manuscripts, according to the editor-in-chief of The Lancet.

The medical journal is one of a number of titles now explicitly committed to helping pursue the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which range from eradicating hunger to reducing inequalities, as titles try to carve out a new role in a world where publishing has moved online.

Richard Horton, its editor-in-chief, told publishers at a conference in Berlin that “scientific journals in the 21st century, if they are to survive – if you want them to survive – must be more than simply journals”.

“The journal as we’ve known it, I think, is coming to its end,” Dr Horton told the Academic Publishing in Europe conference. “What we now need to do is to reinvent the idea of the scientific journal that needs to be more activist in its engagement with the challenges of society.”

Born in the print-dominated world of the 17th century, academic journals face questions over their relevance now that functions such as peer review can, some critics argue, be done on looser online platforms.

Instead of “sitting in our office passively waiting for manuscripts to be submitted to the journal”, Dr Horton said, The Lancet, founded in 1823, now had a mission to “gather the very best scientific evidence, [and] to then think strategically about how that evidence fits within the overall trajectory of scientific and political policy in the world”.

For example, last year the journal published a report setting out how to eradicate malaria by 2050, backed by research funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

This was one of dozens of “commissions” initiated by the journal, which bring together experts to formulate proposals on subjects ranging from defeating Alzheimer’s disease to reforming medical education for the 21st century.

“Journals have a very powerful series of incentives that we can use to literally change the direction of society,” said Dr Horton, who in October last year said doctors had a “responsibility” and an “obligation” to engage in “non-violent social protest” to address the climate crisis.

Also speaking at the conference was Elisa de Ranieri, editor-in-chief of Nature Communications, who said that Nature journals were also trying to help achieve the SDGs by translating results into reality.

Nature Energy, for example, publishes one-page “policy briefs” explaining the implications of academic papers to policymakers.

The publisher has also hosted summits attended by academics, city leaders and policymakers, and is working on making articles searchable by the SDG they sought to tackle.

Still, some journals have faced long-standing criticism that their subscription costs mean they are unaffordable for readers in developing countries – or conversely, that the price of publishing an open-access article excludes scholars from poorer university systems.

Some publishers offer discounts to academics in poorer countries. The Lancet, for example, waives open-access publishing fees for scholars whose main funder is based in a state with a low human development index. Many Lancet articles remain closed except for subscribers, however.

david.matthews@timeshighereducation.com