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Champions Program

The PREreview Champions Program is a program designed to equip PREreview community members with the resources, skills, and support to facilitate the adaptation and adoption of open and equitable peer-review practices within their local communities.

The program runs on an annual basis and was piloted in 2024. It is currently in its third iteration, and you can find out more about our current cohort as well as read about past cohorts and updates made to the program in this collection of blog posts. The program spans 12 months and includes selection via open application, onboarding, training, engagement activities, and final reporting. Champions receive the PREreview Open Reviewers Workshop with a focus on how to adapt the materials to their own contexts and train others. The workshop series provides practical guidance on writing reviews, how to address issues of bias and systemic oppression within peer review, alongside an added component of event facilitation and organization guidance. After the training concludes, we run a number of Live Review sessions to put the knowledge gained into practice by reviewing a preprint collaboratively as a group. Champions then go on to complete at least one community engagement activity of their choice by the end of the program, aimed at supporting others within their local communities to engage in the open, peer review of preprints.

Expectations of PREreview Champions

Champions are expected to attend and actively participate in all sessions of the training program. After the training concludes, PREreview Champions are expected to complete at least one follow-on engagement activity within the following 6 months. It is important to us that our Champions contribute in ways that they feel comfortable, according to their interests, skills, and the time they feel they can do so. For this reason, the role comes with a high degree of flexibility. Follow-on activities Champions may undertake include, but are not limited to:

  • Translating PREreview materials and resources into other languages
  • Running an Open Reviewers training either online or in-person
  • Mentoring fellow researchers on how to review a preprint, with the reviews published on PREreview.org
  • Organizing and facilitating one or more Live Reviews
  • Creating and leading a new PREreview Club
  • Organizing and/or speaking about PREreview at an in-person or virtual event
  • Organizing a panel discussion about open preprint review
  • Facilitating a collaboration between PREreview with another like-minded program or organization

What Champions can expect from PREreview

We want our Champions team to feel comfortable and confident in representing PREreview. To support and value the Champions in their roles, we provide the following:

  • $500 USD honorarium provided upon completion of the training and at least one engagement activity (please note that bank payments may not be possible in some countries; payments may instead be in the form of a gift voucher, please contact us if you have any concerns);
  • PREreview Open Reviewers Training, including certification and digital badge of attendance;
  • A copy of all workshop materials licensed CC BY 4.0, including workshop information, slides, handouts, and templates;
  • Recognition on the PREreview website;
  • Help with content for presentations, training, Live Reviews, and written articles;
  • Personal PREreview Champion digital badge for use on email, website, LinkedIn, and profile on the PREreview Slack Community;
  • Being included in a supportive community of individuals who share a vision for a more open and equitable scholarly communication landscape.

The PREreview Champions Mentor Program

Taking on board feedback we have received from previous iterations of the Champions Program, we have implemented a mentorship component.

PREreview Champion Alums have the opportunity to stay engaged by working with us in a mentor capacity. On an annual basis, new Champions will be matched with a volunteer Mentor –someone who successfully completed this program in the past. PREreview Mentors help Champions discover and answer the questions that are needed to be addressed to imagine, design, build, and facilitate Champions' final engagement project(s).

Mentors and mentees have regular check-ins throughout the six-month period following the training program, as well as a debrief meeting at the end of the program.

If you have further questions about the Champions Program or suggestions on how we can improve our current offering, please contact us at community@prereview.org.

Champions Program 2027 Cohort Applications

To be announced.