MoreBrains Cooperative

The research ecosystem experts

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OUR APPROACH

OUR TEAM

REPOSITORY

We are a team of consultants who specialise in and share the values of open research with a focus on scholarly communications, and research information management, policy, and infrastructures.

Our Services

Working with and for scholarly communications and research organisations

We provide services for organisations of all shapes and sizes: not-for-profit and commercial; small and large; local, national, and international; funders, libraries, publishers, research institutions, infrastructure organisations, startups, and more. We offer collaborative consulting services, designed to encourage contributions from a wide range of stakeholders.

From a one-hour conversation about a specific challenge or opportunity, to project co-design and execution, to a long-term partnership, we are here to help your organisation succeed!

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Programme review

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Market research

Landscape analysis

Business model design

Community outreach strategy

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Community outreach implementation/engagement

Startup coaching and growth strategy

Our Clients

We work with organisations around the world — small and large, not-for-profit and commercial — to help with their strategic planning around research policy and infrastructure; their community engagement and outreach strategies; their product and business modelling; and with consultancy and advice about the research ecosystem.

Knowledge Exchange logo
Center for Open Science logo
IPLC
Center for Open Science logo
Wiley logo
Wiley logo
University of Bristol
University of Bristol
Jisc logo
Health Data Research UK logo
University of Sussex
CABI's logo
CABI's logo
Book Industry Study Group logo
Carina logo
Book Industry Study Group logo
Australian Research Data Commons logo
Australian Research Data Commons logo
ORCID logo
Crossref logo

Testimonials

I turned to MoreBrains to help Morressier establish a strategic advisory board composed of the most innovative mission-led publishers in scholarly publishing. Alice and Fiona were brilliant at guiding us through this process, identifying relevant and motivated contributors, driving a collaborative approach to finding an appropriate governance model, and facilitating the initial meetings. They enabled us to assemble a stellar group of individuals, and we are now independently managing this process, deriving immense value from the Board’s insights. This Board now informs our strategic roadmap and provides a valuable forum for an important segment of the industry.

I’d recommend working with MoreBrains to anyone undertaking a similar initiative. Alice and Fiona’s knowledge, experience, and tact have been invaluable. They were professional, candid, and flexible to our needs as well as those of the board members, helping to set the perfect tone for a productive Board.
Dan Noyes

Director of Communications, Morressier

“Equity, diversity, and inclusion matter to DORA, and we were impressed by the MoreBrains Cooperative and their work with the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute on this topic. DORA collaborated with MoreBrains to create a series of seminars and workshops for our Funder Discussion Group, which has members around the globe. From initial report through to organizing and delivering workshops, members of the MoreBrains team were consistently articulate, thoughtful, engaged, and effective.”
Zen Faulkes

Program Director, DORA

“We commissioned two detailed investigative reports related to the persistent identifiers landscape from MoreBrains Cooperative and have been highly impressed with the quality of their work. They worked on time and to budget, providing updates and opportunities for our feedback along the way. We particularly appreciated the flexibility of MoreBrains in accommodating our requests for adjustments to the deliverables in response to their mid-point findings and our emerging needs.

The final reports contained a comprehensive and thorough business and technical analysis situated in a global contemporary landscape with identification of current trends. The reports achieved a good balance of summary vs. detail with clear options and logical recommendations for us to select from. MoreBrains have certainly earned their namesake and we would definitely hire them again.

Natasha Simons

Associate Director, Data & Services, Australian Research Data Commons

“Our project required a combination of market research and technical analysis, and the bringing together of a variety of diverse perspectives from users and customers. We chose MoreBrains because they demonstrated a deep knowledge of the industry and the area we were investigating, in particular research analytics and researcher behaviour. As a global organisation with diverse user needs, we needed a team that could take a broad and fresh view of our products and the market, rethinking how technology could support us and our community. MoreBrains carried out interviews with researchers, practitioners and policy makers, in several institutions around the world, to understand their technical capabilities and needs. Their approach was to work collaboratively with us, with regular discussions to test out responses and validate progress. This was important for us because we were developing an understanding of our requirements as the work progressed, and allowed us to get the most out of the partnership. MoreBrains presented a thorough assessment of the market and the opportunity, and delivered proposals clearly based on a critical review of the evidence, all with detailed support behind them and full transcripts where possible.”

Damian Bird

Publishing & Operations Director, CABI

“I worked with Fiona Murphy and her colleagues on a project that developed a business model for a  grant-funded project on which I served as a co-PI. The assignment started with a number of moving parts, and that list grew even larger as the team investigated the landscape for distributing and measuring the use of open-access monographs.

We were working on a short time frame – less than three months from start to draft deliverables – and Fiona and her team made the most of it, conducting interviews, developing a business model canvas, and delivering a working model based on their findings and assessments. Throughout, Fiona kept us wholly engaged through regular calls, emails, and sample deliverables that tested what they were developing. They made their mark quickly, effectively, and consultatively, the three things you most want in an engagement.”

Brian F. O'Leary

Executive Director, Book Industry Study Group

“MoreBrains Cooperative’s approach was critical to the success of our work on the Openness Profile. Fiona and Phill took what we wanted to achieve and worked with our experts, along with numerous stakeholders, to understand and map its full implications and requirements. Their expertise and creativity guided us through the complex challenge to create a community-validated roadmap to success.”

Bas Cordewener

Jisc International Facilitator / Knowledge, Exchange Coordinator