EquityEdit | About

About EquityEdit

Overview of Model
EquityEdit, a non-profit organization, capitalizes on the expanding market for scientific editing with the goal of generating funding global public health innovations. In partnership with for-profit biomedical editing companies, we recruit and train scientists from diverse backgrounds to edit manuscripts written by researchers for whom English is a second language. A portion of the compensation they earn is then donated to small, innovative, pro-poor global health organizations as a sustainable source of long-term financing. Additionally, in exchange for the value-added gained by EquityEdit, its for-profit partners provide an additional donation as a percentage of the revenue from each order. Through this means, EquityEdit generates funding for its non-profit organizations in global public health. The goals of EquityEdit are two-fold: (1) to improve communication among scientists from non-English-speaking countries and (2) to deliver sustainable and flexible financing to healthcare organizations delivering medical and public health interventions to the global poor.

Market Niche
The globalization of science through a primarily English-language medium has left scientists from non-English-speaking countries at a distinct disadvantage in communicating their research. Despite the expansion of scientific editing companies, the demand for editing services outstrips the supply. A major issue faced by editing companies is finding talented, reliable editors with sufficient biomedical and scientific backgrounds to provide services to their clients. At the same time, scientists desire to see the fruits of their research borne in resource-poor countries. While scientists tend to be knowledgeable about and sympathetic to global health issues, they lack avenues to allow them to make a real contribution to global public health. The EquityEdit model provides them the opportunity to apply their highly valued scientific expertise to a task that provides a specific monetary value, on the order of $40-$100 per hour, to their services, while contributing the remaining editing profits to a medical relief organization.

Global Health Financing
The EquityEdit mechanism provides sustainable, long-term financing to innovative global public health organizations. While numerous mechanisms do exist for global health financing, few opportunities are available for small, innovative enterprises to develop novel solutions to pressing public health problems. EquityEdit chooses beneficiaries with transparent and open practices so that editors can monitor the way in which the donations they generate are used to create social change.

Innovative Individual Philanthropy
Today’s world offers a stark contrast between the health outcomes of resource-supplied and resource-denied regions. An infant born today in a middle class community in the United States is 20 TIMES more likely to live to five years of age than an infant born in Nepal; a woman in Nepal is 100 TIMES more likely to die as a result of complications associated with pregnancy. Fundamentally addressing these global health inequalities requires not only a large-scale redistribution of finances into resource-denied regions; it requires a social movement. Building that social movement requires ALL OF US to work together, from those living in resource-supplied and resource-denied, and from among the rich and the middle class and the poor. EquityEdit provides a mechanism for talented, dedicated scientists to play part of this social movement. Each editor applies his or her unique expertise and talents to play a small role in advancing global health equity.

Global Health Financing
The EquityEdit mechanism provides sustainable, long-term financing to innovative global public health organizations. While numerous mechanisms do exist for global health financing, few opportunities are available for small, innovative enterprises to develop novel solutions to pressing public health problems. EquityEdit chooses beneficiaries with transparent and open practices so that editors can monitor the way in which the donations they generate are used to create social change. For instance, our current beneficiary Nyaya Health provides regular updates to the editors and operates on a transparent, open-source model via its wiki.

Value-Added to Corporate Partners
In addition to recruiting and training a team of experienced editors, EquityEdit provides for profit partners with value-added in marketing and in IT innovations that produce greater efficiencies. EquityEdit harnesses the efficiency of the market, the reach of the internet, and the power of self-interested goodwill. Importantly, EquityEdit reduces costs, increases exposure, and offers tax incentives to for-profit editing businesses, which makes engaging in this charitable activity good for their bottom line. The exact proportion of funds distributed to the editing company, editor, and non-profit beneficiary is set by a contractual arrangement between the company and editor. There are several present opportunities to get involved with or contribute to EquitEdit.

Corporate Partnerships
If you work for a corporation that might benefit from a collaboration with EquityEdit, please contact editor(AT)equityedit(DOT)org.

Volunteer Leadership Positions
To further improve our model, we are looking for individuals with backgrounds in marketing, social enterprise, biomedicine, technical editing, and public health. Please contact editor(AT)equityedit(DOT)org if interested in joining our team, providing a one-paragraph cover email detailing your relevant background and interests in EquityEdit.

Paid Editors
If you are interested in becoming a paid editor, please apply at http://www.equityedit.org/apply.html. Note that you must have significant first-author publication experience to be considered as an editor. We are also looking for scientists who are conversant in Japanese who can act as translators. Please apply through the same applicant portal.