What is needed to create an impactful editorial fellowship?
While there are likely many ways to support ECRs through editorial
training, we consider the collaborative, two-way model of the RCEF to be
the most crucial key to its success (Fig. 1). By providing a supportive
framework for ECRs to pursue the aspects of the editorial process they
find most compelling, the program and its beneficiaries can best
capitalize on the strengths of each Fellow. However, this framework
cannot succeed without initiative from the Fellows and a willingness to
commit time to the program from both the Fellows and EIC. Beyond the
Fellows, it is also crucial that the EIC, journal, publishing partner,
and scientific society (if applicable) actively support diverse ECR
perspectives. For the RCEF, this higher-level support is shown by
inviting Fellows to strategy meetings, the EIC seeking Fellow opinions
on editorial and journal policy decisions, and by listening when a
Fellow gives feedback or makes a suggestion. In addition to the two-way
model, we consider the creation and maintenance of an inclusive
environment with a goal of broadening participation at every turn to be
fundamental to the success of any fellowship program. By prioritizing
diversity and inclusion, an editorial fellowship can help journals keep
pace with the increasingly global, connected state of academic research
while also giving an important platform to historically excluded voices.
Institutional support at the society and/or publisher level is also
important to any fellowship (Fig. 1). For the RCEF, the society (ASLO)
supports the program financially (e.g., through stipends, conference fee
waivers), publicly via formal acknowledgements (e.g. society-wide
correspondences), and professionally (e.g., including Fellows in
strategy meetings). The publishing partner, Wiley, supports the program
by providing Fellows with key resources for project coordination (e.g.,
relevant data or technical assistance for workshop development). This
support from the society and the publisher show the Fellows that their
efforts are valued. This, in turn, raises the caliber of future
applicants who see the commitment being made to Fellows and encourages
the Fellows to aim high with their fellowship goals.