On the 20th of June INASP* held a symposium in celebration of two decades of excellence, the 20th anniversary was entitled Research, Information and Development: These truths we hold to be self-evident…?’INASP brought together people from all over the globe that have an interest in research communication and development, for a joint class of constructive criticism. From researchers to users, practitioners, intermediaries, policy makers, agencies, experts and publishers; through presentations and participatory discussions participants critically examined some commonly know ‘truths’ about research communication.The Symposium explored the current trends of research communication and research uptake as they exist today, how the field will be in the future and how can we improve our practice areas in light of the robust evidence. Some of the main topics of interests were:

• Poor journal access limits research in developing countries.
• Researchers need to communicate with policy makers.
• Open access is good for developing countries.
• Politics gets in the way of evidence informed policy.”

Guest presentation were given under the following themes:

• Technical solutions to inform access: build it and they will come
• Delivering scholarly literature: The world at your fingertips.
• Doing the right thing trust me, I’m a policy maker.

The presentations are now available from the symposium website. Worth checking out for viewpoints on open access, sharing of research knowledge and putting research into use.

*INASP  (International network for the availability of scientific publications) work alongside worldwide partners to support global research communication that focuses on the needs of developing and emerging countries. They work with 23 partner countries and of 80 network countries around the world Advising and advocating for improved policy and practice and achieving equitable development.