Common Ground Research Networks

What Common Ground Research Networks does

Common Ground Research Networks is a not-for-profit scholarly publisher and conference organizer founded in 1984 in Sydney, Australia, and now headquartered at the University of Illinois Research Park in Champaign, Illinois. The organization operates 23+ interdisciplinary Research Networks — thematic scholarly communities (e.g., Aging & Social Change, Climate Change, Global Studies, Human-Centered AI) — that integrate conferences, peer-reviewed journals, book publishing, and continuous online exchange into a unified scholarly cycle. Conferences are hosted annually at international university venues including Sapienza University of Rome, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Hawaii, Utrecht University, and University of Málaga, with hybrid in-person and online participation through the CGScholar Events platform.

The core technology asset is CGScholar, a proprietary digital ecosystem for scholarly communication developed by the Common Ground Media Lab. CGScholar serves over 200,000 users and hosts 27,000+ published works, combining publishing workflows, double-blind peer review, Knowledge Communities, conference management, and analytics. CGPublisher (cgp.cgscholar.com) is the journal management sub-product that automates submission-to-publication pipelines including DOI registration via Crossref. The platform supports a Wallet and Points system (30,000 points per annual membership) that can offset Open Access publication fees, and includes light peer review for Knowledge Community posts. Adjacent research outputs include CyberScholar (AI-assisted writing and assessment) and the Human-Centered AI Transformations Network.

Revenue is generated through a diversified scholarly ecosystem model: (1) annual Research Network memberships at $300/year, (2) conference registration fees (Presenter and Audience passes) across 20+ annual events, (3) journal publication fees at the Rights Agreement phase (Gold CC BY, Hybrid CC BY-NC-ND, or Green OA pathways), (4) book publication fees of $2,500 for Open Access titles with authors retaining print royalties, and (5) institutional subscriptions for academic libraries through CGScholar and distributors including Ingram, Amazon, and academic library suppliers spanning 80+ countries. Customer segments span individual academic researchers, graduate students and early-career researchers, independent authors, universities (as conference venues), and academic libraries. The not-for-profit model reinvests in scholarly infrastructure, with no external equity ownership disclosed.

Name

Common Ground Research Networks

Legal name

Common Ground Research Networks

Website

https://cgnetworks.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Common Ground Research Networks is a not-for-profit scholarly ecosystem operating 23+ interdisciplinary Research Networks, its CGScholar digital platform (200,000+ users, 27,000+ published works), peer-reviewed journals, and international conferences, serving academic researchers, graduate students, independent authors, and academic libraries worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scholarly Publishing Services

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Periodical Publishers (51312), Book Publishers (513130), Other Publishers (51319)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Interdisciplinary & Multidisciplinary Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarly Society & Association Publishing (EDAGAFAK), Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC), Academic & Scientific Conferences (MPAGAGAD), Open Access Scholarly Journals & Monographs (EDAGAFAJ), Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK)

Keywords

• Scholarly publishing services
• Academic conference organization
• Peer-reviewed journal publishing
• Open access publishing
• Scholarly communication platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Champaign

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Research Network Membership: Annual membership fees ($300 USD/year) provide access to Knowledge Communities, conference discounts, CGScholar Points (30,000 points included), digital journal access, and publishing-related benefits. Membership sustains the shared infrastructure of conferences, publications, and CGScholar platform.
2. Conference Registration: Fees for conference participation including Presenter Passes (may include membership) and Audience Passes. In-person and online (blended) registration options available. Registration provides access to conference events, sessions, and digital materials via CGScholar.
3. Journal Publication Fees: Publication pathway fees during Rights Agreement phase. Options include Gold Open Access (CC BY), Hybrid Open Access (CC BY-NC-ND), and All Rights Reserved with Green OA. CGScholar Points can be applied toward fees. Common Ground Author Fund provides limited fee waivers for authors from developing nations.
4. Book Publishing: Open Access book publication fee of $2,500 USD. Authors retain full royalties from print sales. Traditional publishing also available. Titles distributed through CGScholar Bookstore, Ingram, Amazon, and academic library suppliers.
5. Book Sales and Subscriptions: Revenue from book sales through CGScholar Bookstore, Ingram distribution network, Amazon, and academic library suppliers. Libraries can subscribe to entire book imprints or subject collections. Individual ebook purchases and downloads available.
6. Institutional Subscriptions: Libraries and institutions subscribe to journal content and book collections through digital platform or preferred vendor partners. Access includes IP-registered access, full-text HTML and PDF, usage statistics, and remote proxy access.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Common Ground Research Networks operates an integrated scholarly publishing and conference ecosystem built on the CGScholar digital platform. It delivers peer-reviewed journal publication, open access and traditional book publishing, and international academic conferences organized through more than 20 interdisciplinary Research Networks. The organization serves academic researchers, graduate students, universities, and libraries through memberships, publication fees, conference registrations, and institutional subscriptions.

Product overview

Common Ground Research Networks operates a unified scholarly ecosystem combining digital platforms, publishing services, and research networks. The core platform is CGScholar, a digital ecosystem for scholarly communication with over 200,000 users and 27,000 published works, which integrates with CGPublisher as the journal management and publishing workflow tool. Around CGScholar, the organization runs 23+ Research Networks that serve as thematic scholarly communities, each integrating conferences (held at universities worldwide), peer-reviewed journals, and book publishing. The Media Lab, including CyberScholar and the Human-Centered AI Transformations Network, provides the research and technology foundation—designing AI-augmented tools for knowledge creation, peer review automation, and scholarly communication. Knowledge Communities within CGScholar enable ongoing member engagement, while the Wallet and Points system incentivizes participation and offsets publishing costs. The CGScholar Events platform supports hybrid conference participation with asynchronous digital media capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Networks Memberships
• International Academic Conferences
• Peer-Reviewed Academic Journals

Quantifiable outcome

• 200,000+ users across the CGScholar platform
• +3 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and tier_2.

• Association of American Publishers (AAP)coreOthersThe largest U.S. trade association for consumer, educational, professional, and scholarly publishing. Common Ground is a member, connecting to over 400 member organizations including multinational corporations, independent publishers, university presses, and nonprofit publishers.
• ALPSP (Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers)coreOthersInternational membership trade body supporting not-for-profit organizations that publish scholarly and professional content. With over 300 members in 30 countries, ALPSP membership connects Common Ground with the broader scholarly publishing community.
• Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP)coreOthersNonprofit organization promoting and advancing communication among all sectors of the scholarly publication community through networking, information dissemination, and facilitating new developments in the field.
• CrossrefcoreTechnology or IntegrationNot-for-profit membership organization for scholarly publishing that makes content easy to find, link, cite, and assess through online tools. Common Ground uses Crossref for DOI registration and metadata services.
• United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Publishers CompactstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommon Ground is a signatory to the UN SDG Publishers Compact, committing to 10 action points to accelerate progress toward Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 through publishing practices.
• University of Illinois Research ParkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommon Ground Research Networks is headquartered at the University of Illinois Research Park in Champaign, Illinois, providing research infrastructure and academic connections.
• Sapienza University of Rometier_2Strategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for the Fifteenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society (2025) and the Twenty-Second International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities.
• Carnegie Mellon Universitytier_2Strategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for the Twentieth International Conference on the Arts in Society (2025) at the Center for the Arts in Society.
• University of Hawaiitier_2Strategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for the Twenty-Third International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities (2025).
• University of Málagatier_2Strategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for the Twentieth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences (2025).
• Utrecht Universitytier_2Strategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for the Thirty-First International Conference on Learning (10-12 July 2024).
• Liverpool John Moores Universitytier_2Strategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for the Ninth International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies (19-21 June 2024).
• Moscow State Universitytier_2Strategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for the Fifth Global Studies Conference.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• MDPI: Multidisciplinary open-access publisher with hundreds of journals, scholar-led editorial models, and rapid publication cycles. Closely comparable to Common Ground's model of scholar-run Networks combined with peer-reviewed OA journals and conference-adjacent publishing.
• Frontiers Media: Open-access publisher operating scholar-led journals with built-in peer review and review forum features. Comparable to Common Ground's CGScholar Communities and OA journal pathways in author experience and pricing model.
• De Gruyter: Independent academic publisher with a strong humanities and social sciences OA portfolio, multiple imprints, and society publishing partnerships. Comparable to Common Ground's interdisciplinary, society-adjacent publishing footprint.
• SAGE Publishing: Academic and educational publisher with deep social sciences coverage, OA options (SAGE Open), and society publishing relationships. Comparable to Common Ground's interdisciplinary social sciences networks and OA book offerings.
• Cambridge University Press: University press publishing journals, books, and hosting academic conferences globally with rigorous peer review. Comparable to Common Ground's journal+book+conference integration and scholar-led editorial structures.
• IGI Global: Independent academic publisher specializing in interdisciplinary information science, education, and business books and journals with OA options. Closely comparable to Common Ground's interdisciplinary book/journal portfolio and scholar-led editorial governance.

Broad incumbents

• Taylor & Francis: One of the largest academic publishers with thousands of journals, OA imprints, and extensive conference partnerships. Overlaps significantly with Common Ground's disciplines but at far greater scale and institutional reach.
• Oxford University Press: Major university press with leading humanities and social sciences journals, OA options, and conference publishing. Comparable scholarly society-style publishing and OA book model, though at much larger scale.
• Springer Nature: Global academic publisher combining Springer and Nature portfolios with conferences (via Springer Nature acquisitions) and OA imprints. Comparable to Common Ground's multidisciplinary, conference-linked publishing model but vastly larger.
• Elsevier: Largest academic publisher with thousands of journals, OA options, society publishing, and conference platforms. Direct overlap with Common Ground's peer-reviewed journal portfolio across virtually every discipline CGRN covers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CGRNetworks

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Common Ground Research Networks