Elsevier Partners With Communispace to Launch G...

AMSTERDAM, March 25 /PRNewswire/ --

- Innovation Explorers Unites 300 Researchers From 69 Countries

    Elsevier, the leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical
information products and services, today announced the launch of Innovation
Explorers, an online community of 300 researchers from 69 countries. Through
online activities ranging from facilitated chats to one-on-one interviews,
the members will help Elsevier identify, design and deliver relevant products
and services that resonate with and inspire research scientists around the
world.



    Communispace, which has created more than 325 online communities for the
world's largest brands, kicked-off the Elsevier community in November 2008
and is now actively leading member activity and the delivery of insights.
Through ongoing discussions with members and facilitated activities, Elsevier
hopes to better understand the challenges and unmet needs of researchers,
gaining deeper insight into the pressing issues within the research
community. Elsevier has already begun involving the community in developing
new products that more precisely match the needs of researchers, from the
early ideation phase to usability testing of prototypes.



    "As a company, we're committed to finding new innovative ways to better
involve our users and buyers in our business, while providing them a global
platform to engage with one another," said Jay Katzen, Managing Director
Academic and Government Products. "During a time when resources are scarce
and global collaboration is critical to achieving scientific breakthroughs,
our goal for Innovation Explorers is to discover, in partnership with the
researchers themselves, how Elsevier can help improve their research
outcomes."



    Innovation Explorers enables a select group of top scientists to interact
and engage with colleagues from around the globe and across a broad range of
fields of study. These interactions offer Elsevier an unprecedented
opportunity to listen to and learn from researchers as they communicate with
one another.



    In December 2008, Elsevier added librarians to the Innovation Explorers
community, facilitating interactions among 150 librarians from 40 different
countries. Librarians are an important partner, alongside researchers, in
designing the research library of the future. These members participate in
unique activities with fellow librarians as well as in joint activities with
members of the researcher group.



    "Although the community is relatively new, we're excited about the active
level of participation and the richness of member dialogue we've seen so
far," commented Diane Hessan, CEO of Communispace. "The geographic diversity
of this community, with members from 69 countries, makes this an especially
interesting initiative, and we look forward to seeing the unique insights
that arise from this unprecedented global effort."



About Communispace

    Communispace Corporation is the leader in building, managing and
facilitating private branded communities that deliver the voice of the
customer and enable businesses to generate continuous insights, drive faster
innovation, and build loyalty. Founded in 1999, the company has created more
than 325 customer communities for industry leaders such as Kraft,
Hewlett-Packard, Charles Schwab, Hallmark, Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline and
Hilton Hotels Corporation. Headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts, the
company has offices in New York, San Francisco, London, Chicago, Austin,
Atlanta and San Remo, Italy.



About Elsevier

    Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and 
medical information products and services. Working in partnership with the 
global science and health communities, Elsevier's 7,000 employees in over 70 
offices worldwide publish more than 2,000 journals and 1,900 new books per 
year, in addition to offering a suite of innovative electronic products, 
such as ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com/), MD Consult 
(http://www.mdconsult.com/), Scopus (http://www.info.scopus.com/),
bibliographic databases, and online reference works.



    Elsevier (http://www.elsevier.com/) is a global business headquartered in
Amsterdam, The Netherlands and has offices worldwide. Elsevier is part of
Reed Elsevier Group plc (http://www.reedelsevier.com/), a world-leading
publisher and information provider. Operating in the science and medical,
legal, education and business-to-business sectors, Reed Elsevier provides
high-quality and flexible information solutions to users, with increasing
emphasis on the Internet as a means of delivery. Reed Elsevier's ticker
symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and
ENL (New York Stock Exchange).


    
    Malkie Bernheim/Jessica Disch
    Padilla Speer Beardsley
    [phone]
    [e-mail] / [e-mail]