Plan S - Making full and immediate Open Access a reality
6-02-19
Plan S is an initiative for Open Access publishing that was launched in September 2018. The plan is supported by cOAlition S, an international consortium of research funders. Plan S requires that, from 2020, scientific publications that result from research funded by public grants must be published in compliant Open Access journals or platforms.
Launched by Science Europe in September 2018, this consortium plans to require researchers whose work benefits from state funds to publish all related research in open repositiories or Open Access journals - by 2020.
At present, many European countries support Plan S - including whole-hearted support from the UK with David Sweeney of Research England as a joint leader of the cOAlition S. Germany and others around the globe have expressed reservations but the push for Open Access has become a global movement and is picking up steam. Where some express concerns about academic freedom, others see the potential for large savings in university libraries. For example, strapped for cash, state-funded universities in the US appear to see Plan S as an opportunity for financial savings.