Annual Report April 6th 2020 - April 5th 2021
AIMS AND PURPOSES
Mattering Press is an Open Access publisher that is dedicated to increasing access to the social scientific study of expert-led knowledge in a field often referred to as Science and Technology Studies (STS). As an open access publisher we aim to increase access to research in the field of STS by making it widely and freely available in the form of monographs and edited collections.
Mattering Press established itself as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) on 15-05-2013. The object of the charity as set out in our constitution is
To advance the education of the public in Science and Technology Studies, in particular by commissioning and publishing social scientific work on an open access basis.
All Mattering books will, therefore, be available freely as ebooks and as printed books to purchase. We also support books using formats that are experimental or difficult to publish using conventional publishing models.
In shaping our objectives for the year and planning our activities, the trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, including the guidance on fee-charging. Open Access book publishing is still a relatively new phenomenon and the Open Access community is still experimenting with ways to make this form of publishing economically sustainable. The Press is partly funded through general donations, donations made for accessing books online and book sales. Mattering Press does charge fees to costs of publication, although discounts on this range from 25% to 100%. At the same time, we are working with partners in the ScholarLed consortium to develop new infrastructures and partnerships that will enable us to move away from a dependence on these fees.
During the financial year that this document reports on – 06-04-2020 to 05-04-2021 - the Press reduced its activities significantly as a result of the Covid-19 crises. We spent this period focusing our much reduced availability on any outstanding books and we decided to put a temporary hold on all new contracts. It was very difficult to meet our aims and objectives beyond this bare minimum. Thus we have little to report as activities during this financial period.
ACTIVITIES
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its impacts on Trustees, their families, and those that the Charity collaborates with, Mattering Press’ activities were significantly curtailed in the period. Nonetheless, the press and its Trustees were nonetheless involved in some activities, as follows:
Books Published
- Boxes: A Field Guide was published on 12th August 2020. This book is a substantial edited collection that offers an introduction to ways of ordering the world, playing on the format of a field guide.
Project Involvement
- Mattering Press editors, Joe Deville and Julien McHardy, continued to be involved as a Co-Investigator and Consultant in the COPIM (Community-led Open Publication Infrastructures for Monographs) project funded by Research England and the Arcadia Fund. For example, in May 2020, Deville was involved in a workshop in partnership with the University of Michigan and Lyrasis, and published an update on the progress of his work on the project in October 2020. McHardy continued to contribute to the project’s rethinking of experimental book publishing, including participating in a workshop in summer 2020. He also published a note on the making of books and collectives in January 2021.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Mattering Press is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) whose only voting members are its charity trustees. The charity trustees are also the General Editors for the Press. The Editors, or the Board of Trustees meet quarterly to administer the business of the Press. All decisions are brought to the board either via email or during meetings. Trustees each have a portfolio that they are responsible for administering.
In the event of a retiring trustee, the board will meet to discuss the skill requirements needed to fill the position. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees and Editors, the board has regard for the skills, knowledge and experience needed to administer the CIO. Nominations for the new Trustee may come from the Board or the wider STS community. The Editors will vote to accept new applications at a General Meeting. New trustees are then inducted into charity business at their first Trustees meeting. During this meeting they are briefed about their legal obligations under charity law, the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit, the Mattering Press Constitution, the committee and decision-making processes, the business plan and recent financial performance of the charity. The work of administering the charity is supported by the Advisory Board.
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATION DETAILS
The correspondence address for Mattering Press is 8 Limley Grove, Manchester, M21 8UB, United Kingdom.
Charity Number: 1152056
The Trustees that have served during the financial year here reported and until the date this report was approved are as follows:
Uli Beisel, University of Bayreuth, Germany Endre Dányi, Bundeswehr University Munich, Germany Joe Deville, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK Julien McHardy, Studio, Amsterdam. Michaela Spencer, Charles Darwin University, Australia Natalie Gill, Freelance, Bristol, UK
Anna Dowrick continued as digital editor and a member of the editorial team, joining the Board of Trustees in January 2021.
Professional Advisors
The Trustees would like to thank the following advisors and partners for their continued support.
STS Advisory Board
Geoffrey Bowker, University of California, Irvine Franck Cochoy, University of Toulouse Michael Guggenheim, Goldsmiths, University of London Casper Bruun Jensen, IT University of Copenhagen John Law, Open University Noortje Marres, Goldsmiths, University of London Ivan da Costa Marques, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Annemarie Mol, University of Amsterdam David Pontille, CSI, Paris Volona Rabeharisoa, CSI, Paris Richard Rottenburg, University of Halle-Wittenberg Lucy Suchman, Lancaster University Anna Tsing, University of California, Santa Cruz Sarah Whatmore, Oxford University
OA Publishing Advisory Board
Edward Akerboom, Infostreams Alex Billington, Tetragon Mercedes Bunz, Leuphana University Tim Elfenbein, University of California, Irvine
Gary Hall, Coventry University Eileen Joy, Punctum Books Chris Kelty, University of California Sarah Kember, Goldsmiths, University of London Ivor Williams, Amerang
Partners
CISP, Goldsmiths Centre for Mobilities Research, Lancaster University EASST Hybrid Publishing Lab Infostreams Institute for Social Futures, Lancaster University Open Humanities Press Tetragon Will Roscoe ScholarLed
This report was approved on 5 February 2022 by Uli Beisel, Endre Dányi, Joe Deville, Natalie Gill, Julien McHardy, Michaela Spencer and Anna Dowrick.
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MATTERING PRESS Charity number: 1152056
CC16a
Receipts and payments accounts
For the period
6th April 2019 To 5th April 2020
from
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Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total funds Last year funds funds funds
to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ A1 Receipts 1,734 - - 1,734 5,292 Receipts from institutions Individual donations 1,653 - - 1,653 868 Sales Sub total (Gross income for 3,387 - - 3,387 6,160 ~~i~~ AR) ~~da~~
A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). - - - - - - - - - Sub total [ - ] - - - - ~~ae~~ Total receipts 3,387 - - 3,387 6,160 A3 Payments Administration 149 149 - Printing and distribution 2,416 2,416 334 Production 4,169 4,169 - Marketing 975 975 1,500 Sub total 7,709 - - 7,709 1,834 ~~eee~~ A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) - - - - - - - - Sub total - - Total payments 7,709 - - 7,709 1,834 ~~ae~~ Net of receipts/(payments) - 4,322 - - - 4,322 4,326 A5 Transfers between funds - - - - - A6 Cash funds last year end 50,944 - - - 46,618 Cash funds this year end CCXX R1 accounts (SS) ~~===~~ 46,622 - 1 - ~~==~~ 50,944 05/02/2022
| Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted Restricted |
Endowment | |||
| funds funds |
funds | |||
| Categories | Details | |||
| to nearest £ to nearest £ |
to nearest £ | |||
| B1 Cash funds | 43,680 - - 2,942 - - 46,622 - - Paypal Account Bank Current Account Total cash funds ~~——~~ |
|||
| Unrestricted Restricted |
Endowment | |||
| funds funds |
funds | |||
| B2 Other monetary assets | to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - Details ~~——~~ |
|||
| B3 Investment assets | Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Current value (optional) - - - - Details ~~—_—~~ |
|||
| B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use |
Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Current value (optional) - - - - Details ~~——_—~~ |
|||
| B5 Liabilities | Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) When due (optional) - - Details ~~———_—~~ |
|||
| Signed by one or two trustees on | ||||
| behalf of all the trustees | ||||
| Signature | Print Name | Date of approval |
||
| ~~c-<)~~ | Joseph Deville | 5th February 2022 |
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
05/02/2022
2