Understanding Plan S: A Comprehensive Overview of Open Access Policies

Back in September 2018, eleven European Union-based science agencies joined forces to propose the Plan S. This initiative mandates that all scientific publications resulting from research funded by these agencies must be made available in compliant open access journals or platforms starting from 2020 and beyond. The roots of Plan S can be traced back to the 2003 Berlin Declaration, which laid the groundwork for open access, and the subsequent Principles on Open Access to Research Publications released by Science Europe in 2013, which further accelerated the movement.

The Funding Bodies of Plan S

The coalition of funders involved in Plan S includes a diverse range of organizations, each committed to promoting open access in research. These funders are:

Austrian Science Fund French National Research Agency Science Foundation Ireland National Research Fund Luxembourg Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Research Council of Norway National Science Centre Poland Slovenian Research Agency Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences, and Spatial Planning UK Research and Innovation Wellcome Trust Academy of Finland Bill Melinda Gates Foundation Rijsbankens Jubileumsfond FORTE

Key Requirements and Guidelines

Under Plan S, publications should ideally adhere to the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). Funders are expected to cover publication fees rather than authors, which is a significant shift from the traditional model. Hybrid models of publication, where content is partially open access, are not considered compliant with Plan S. This has led to specific criticism of the embargo periods used in certain publication models, which are explicitly called out.

The Impact of Plan S

The adoption of Plan S is expected to have a profound impact on the open access landscape. According to a report by Nature, only 15% of journals currently adhere to full open access, while 45% maintain a hybrid model. This statistic underscores the scale of change required to fully implement the Plan S mandate.

Contrast with Other Legislative Efforts

The push for open access through Plan S contrasts with initiatives like the Research Works Act (RWA), introduced in 2011 by Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), which aimed to prohibit open access mandates. Conversely, the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act, advocating for open access, has been in a state of limbo in Congress.

Conclusion

The adoption of Plan S represents a significant shift in the way research is disseminated and accessed. As more funders join the coalition, the pressure on publishers and researchers to comply with open access requirements will only increase. The ultimate goal is to ensure that scientific knowledge is freely available to everyone, fostering collaboration and innovation across the global scientific community.