The March 2023 issue marks the end of the Regulatory Rapporteur journal being produced in its hard copy format, as TOPRA moves forward with its long-term strategy of a dedicated online platform, and the next phase of the journal’s publishing life. Regulatory Rapporteur’s continued success and relevance depends on TOPRA ensuring that the journal remains in step with the latest developments in publishing so that it can evolve with the changing needs of its global readership.
With the wider world of scientific journal publishing moving online, the next logical step for TOPRA was to launch Regulatory Rapporteur on a fully digital publishing platform, which was achieved in June of last year.
TOPRA’s publishing and communications team will now be able to invest much more of their efforts in developing the online platform into an even better resource in the months and years to come.
The online platform presents many opportunities that would otherwise not be possible in print. These range from better search functionality, cross-referencing and signposting to relevant content from past issues, while enabling us to enhance existing content with different types of media, such as video and podcasts.
It supports TOPRA’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion by providing our global membership with convenient and instant access to all the latest journal content. It also improves Regulatory Rapporteur’s overall accessibility with technology such as screen readers that can assist members with visual or other impairments, such as a dedicated type-set specifically for dyslexia.
It also enables us to reduce our use of resources, lower our overall environmental footprint and become more sustainable by reducing the amount of printed material and the associated impact of distribution.