Discover Opportunities, Drive Innovation, and Deliver Success.
Our team of accomplished industry professionals has the breadth and depth necessary to help clients meet the complex needs of today and help future-proof their programs for tomorrow.
Since 2000, we have partnered with more than 200 societies, publishers, and other organizations, virtually all of which have sought our advice on multiple occasions. Thanks to the care, collaborative spirit, and creativity with which each project is handled, our reports do not sit on a shelf; they are immediately actionable.
Strategic Planning and Implementation
Strategic Planning and ImplementationKGL Consulting takes a comprehensive approach to publishing strategy. From stakeholder interviews or facilitating strategic planning sessions through preparing actionable recommendation plans, we clarify your objectives, understand your current value proposition, ascertain and evaluate alternatives, and propose the most promising path forward. Plans are customized for your organization while being informed by our decades of experience and innovation.
- Business plans for new and existing products
- Journal valuations and brokerage
- Strategic directions and implementation
- Scenario building and financial modeling
- Organization, governance, and
change management
New Product Development
New Product DevelopmentTo develop innovative products that are aligned with your mission and meet your goals for growth, KGL Consulting employs proven methods. We identify and screen ideas, craft new product concepts, pretest user adoption, prepare financial projections, help secure Board approval, and schedule key events leading to launch. Our consultants have been involved in the development of dozens of successful new journals, with the most prestigious organizations. Our approach reduces risk and vastly increases the chance of continuing success.
- Idea screening and concept development
- User research and competitor analyses
- Business models, pricing, and policies
Publisher RFPs and Contract Negotiations
Publisher RFPs and Contract NegotiationsKGL Consulting’s management of publisher RFPs is second to none. No other consultancy has handled more RFPs, renewals, and contract negotiations, consistently receiving high praise from our clients. Our market knowledge, time-tested process and documentation, and detailed assessment and analysis ensure that you have the information necessary about both the complement of services and the financial package (and strategic vision!) being offered to select the best alternative for your organization.
- Understanding which publishers are most likely to meet your evolving needs
- Sophisticated assessment of publishing services and financial returns to the organization
- Effective negotiating skills, substantially improving performance and financial outcomes
- Management of transition from one publisher to another
Publisher Appraisal and Liaison Service (PALS)
Publisher Appraisal and Liaison Service (PALS)PALS is an annual service providing expert, independent appraisal of your partner’s editorial, production, marketing, and financial performance. The result will be specific actionable recommendations on how to prioritize projects and use your publisher’s knowledge and resources to best effect. Clients routinely approach us at renewal time with questions or concerns about their journal and/or publisher performance over the past contract term. This service helps societies optimize publisher performance throughout the contract. Our approach helps channel resources towards areas that may need attention and which can benefit from renewed emphasis. Here are just a few of the possible benefits of putting PALS to work for your publications:
- Monitor publisher’s contract obligations and analyze financial return to identify opportunities, highlight trends, and assess performance vis-à-vis society expectations.
- Assess publisher marketing plans and advocate for journal-specific campaigns
- Champion strategic journal initiatives with the publisher to ensure follow through
- Benchmark journal metrics against best practice KPIs and identify optimization strategies
- PALs includes a bank of “Society Hours” from which you can draw on. This might for additional analysis, follow up with publisher on action items, or implementation of discrete projects that you want to pursue from the audit.
Editor-in-Chief Recruitment
Editor-in-Chief RecruitmentAn Editor-in-Chief search is demanding. It takes significant time and resources to recruit a targeted group of qualified and diverse candidates, hire an individual with the requisite professional experience and personal qualities, and provide appropriate transparency. Yet, these are vital to upholding a society’s reputation and increasing journal impact. Learn more about how KGL Consulting manages Editor-in-Chief recruitment on behalf of many societies each year, helping to set journal programs on a path to even greater success. Our services may include any or all of the following:
- Drafting a recruitment and communications plan, resulting in a qualified and diverse pool of candidates
- Preparing a position description describing the qualifications, responsibilities, and expectations
- Offering an assessment tool providing for fair and objective review of candidates’ experience and credentials
- Benchmarking compensation plans for Editor-in-Chief and associate editors
- Ensuring that Editor-in-Chief contract covers basics plus performance metrics and unexpected circumstances
- Crafting an editor transition plan, including manuscript system training and editor terms and turnover
Publications
Director Service
PublicationsKGL Consulting’s Publications Director service provides an experienced individual (backed by our team of consultants) to advance a society’s journal publishing program by providing publications management, publisher / service provider oversight, publication development, and strategic guidance and implementation to achieve the society’s goals on a full- or part-time basis.
- For organizations wishing to benefit from experienced publishing professional but do not need or cannot afford a full-time position
- Intelligent and affordable solution for organizations that have journal management handled by an already busy staff, have a small team needing direction, or wish to grow its publications
- In an increasingly complex environment, editors need more support and societies need an expert to ensure continued, strong financial returns
Quality Submissions and Impact
Quality Submissions and ImpactKGL Consulting provides expert guidance on editorial and publishing operations workflows, policies, and organization. We have the diagnostic tools to identify critical strengths and weaknesses and the experience to suggest ways to mitigate threats and realize opportunities. Stakeholder interviews, a close review of important background documents, citation and funder analyses, and competitive benchmarking inform our recommendations. We can also assess client-provided reports and data to identify and prioritize actionable strategics and tactics.
- Drive high-impact global submissions
- Streamline workflow and increase speed
- Improving editor, reviewer, and
author satisfaction
Market Research, Trends, and Analytics
Market Research, Trends, and AnalyticsThousands of in-depth interviews with stakeholders and opinion leaders; hundreds of representative panel discussions and statistically valid end-user surveys and competitor and industry analyses, and dozens of papers and presentations on publishing trends and best practices—multitudes of reasons for selecting KGL Consulting to conduct your publishing market research and help you determine your future direction. What separates us from other market research firms is our valuable insights and actionable advice.
- Surveys, focus groups, and interviews
- Trends talks to inform publishing staff, editors,
publications committees, and boards. - Citation/bibliometric analyses vis-à-vis
the competition - OA/Funder analyses for benchmarking, planning,
and decision-making - Largest editorial compensation benchmarking
study available.
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Latest Insights
K-12 publishers in the U.S. face challenges navigating changing state legislation on educational content, risking adoptions and revenue.
Our bite-sized modules are designed for quick, effective learning that fits seamlessly into any busy schedule.
Recently, the KGL Smart Lab team explored how a custom GPT can be used in the production of examination items, and there were some very interesting key findings and takeaways.
