Contract Reviews

Renew Consulting for Societies offers a full contract review service to help you to assess your current journals’ publishing arrangements. I will work with staff and society officers to produce an impartial assessment of the current situation, and benchmark this against industry norms. This will help you to decide whether you wish to renew with your current publisher or explore other options

Expert advice is particularly valuable at contract renewal time, and I can include a full assessment of any proposal put forward by your current publisher; what might be expected if you were to tender your journals’ business; as well as guidance on the more intangible benefits which are key elements of any agreement.

Contract Reviews

Testimonials

Institution of Chemical Engineering

The Institution of Chemical Engineering (IChemE) commissioned Renew to help with the review and renegotiation of its journals’ contract. We requested a renewal offer from our current publisher and Julie Neason provided a detailed analysis of the terms and how they compared with the current contract. This allowed us to assess the merits of the proposal quickly and comprehensively, saving many hours of time. Julie also provided specific advice about the financial offer and was able to give an anonymized summary of how this compared with other offers. This advice was invaluable and could only have been provided by an expert consultant with experience of working with multiple organisations.

In addition, we found Julie’s pragmatic and practical advice indispensable when doing the legal contractual review. Without this, we could have become involved in multiple rounds of legal argument costing significant time and money. Julie’s advice allowed us to make sensible judgements about what really mattered, and where there was flexibility. This enabled us to finalise the contract with minimal drama.

Claudia Flavell-While, Director of Publications

Antipode Foundation

As our journal approached its 50th anniversary, the Antipode Foundation commissioned Julie Neason at Renew to conduct a review of our publishing arrangements. Julie presented an insightful report, evaluating our situation against industry norms and offering a balanced assessment of the possible costs and benefits of going out to full competitive tender. Occupying an important place in the publishing landscape, Julie is able to provide impartial advice to scholarly societies – advice that could prove to be invaluable.

Andrew Kent, Managing Editor