eLife Pathways: Building a collaborative open science ecosystem

4th June 2026

The promise of open science to revolutionise scholarly communication is undeniable. Around the globe, the research community is eager for more transparent, equitable, and efficient ways to share knowledge. Yet, significant gaps in technology, knowledge, and expertise hinder this vision.

There is a lack of suitable alternatives to the traditional, journal-centric publishing system, which stifles innovation and perpetuates inequitable knowledge sharing and participation. A major part of this problem is not a lack of intention but rather a lack of coordination among scholarly open-source infrastructure providers, which is preventing the development of a robust, foundational infrastructure that benefits the entire scholarly community.

To bridge these gaps, Wellcome has funded us to develop a new independent initiative called eLife Pathways.

Our mission? To build and service a diverse, inclusive, and coordinated publishing ecosystem for all. By strengthening existing collaborations and forging new ones, eLife Pathways aims to empower the community to embrace open technology, where communities assess research responsibly, share knowledge equitably, and spark innovation.

What Will eLife Pathways Do?

Simply opening up source code isn’t enough to drive widespread adoption of open scholarly infrastructure. It requires a hands-on approach, technical expertise, and intentional connection. eLife Pathways will therefore focus on three actionable pillars:

1. Deliver community-validated enhancements: We will upgrade our existing software and connect it directly to key open-source infrastructures to accelerate adoption and significantly improve interoperability across the ecosystem. We will make community-driven changes to Kotahi, Sciety and eLife’s preprint review infrastructure.
2. Co-develop free, open-source tooling: In partnership with like-minded organisations, we will co-create integrated tools that strengthen open scholarly infrastructure and deliver meaningful impact for the communities they serve. Our first project will be to develop a universal JATS XML conversion solution with the Public Knowledge Project.
3. Participate in important community projects: We will provide the underlying technology and operational strength needed to boost new projects and initiatives, ensuring they gain momentum and drive long-term resilience. We are currently collaborating with COMET on their projects and working on the Open Exchange Architecture (OXA) to support interoperable, structured scientific content.

Redirecting Our Technology Focus

We aren’t starting from scratch. Our experience building and sharing open-source infrastructure has given us deep, practical knowledge of what a truly open science ecosystem needs. Since 2022, eLife’s technology team has driven its energy inward, focusing on transitioning the eLife journal to a PRC workflow. In doing so, we have built robust, flexible, and extensible technology capable of supporting a diverse range of interconnected open science workflows.

Now, it’s time to unlock its full potential. eLife Pathways redirects our technology team’s focus outward to serve the wider open science ecosystem.

Our core offering combines open-source infrastructure, needs-driven technology, and expert professional services to advance the entire ecosystem. Moving forward, we will also responsibly leverage AI, using its growing capabilities to better connect research outputs and champion machine-readable science. Rather than operating in isolation, eLife Pathways will actively reinforce others’ work, fostering healthy interdependence among open science organisations. Through collaboration, we aim to build sustainable, scalable technology on shared platforms and co-create a connected ecosystem where knowledge can be shared and used freely.

Watch this space for more information on the projects we are working on and how we are working with the community!