{"id":2560,"date":"2019-05-09T15:39:40","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T15:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/plan-s-the-nuts-and-bolts\/"},"modified":"2025-02-18T10:53:59","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T10:53:59","slug":"plan-s-the-nuts-and-bolts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/plan-s-the-nuts-and-bolts","title":{"rendered":"Plan S: The nuts and bolts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you heard of Plan S? It has been one of the hottest topics of discussion among academics over the past few months. Most of you might be aware of what it is. If you don\u2019t, this post is for you. In this post I will discuss the basics of Plan S and some of its implications on research and researchers globally. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Problems with accessing published literature<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Accessibility to latest research is crucial for the advancement of science and technology. However, over the past few years, institutions in various countries have been finding it increasingly difficult to afford<\/a> the subscriptions costs of paywalled journals. For example, over the past year, academics in Germany<\/a>, Taiwan<\/a>, and Sweden<\/a> lost access to subscription-based journals circulated by major publishers like Elsevier. Research institutions, universities, and libraries in countries such as Germany and Sweden also formed a consortium in an attempt to discuss the possibility of a better deal between institutions and publishers to improve the former\u2019s access to subscription-based journals. However, most of these negotiations failed. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The beginnings of Plan S<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While the consortia were making these attempts, the shift toward open access publishing gained momentum when some funders in Europe came together to discuss how they could facilitate easy global access to the latest research. Last year in September, a group of 11 national funding agencies across Europe formed cOAlition S<\/a> and initiated Plan S. The supporters of this initiative include research funding organizations as well as global charitable funders such as Wellcome Trust and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What does Plan S propose?<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Plan S mandates that from January 1, 2020, all academics who receive funding from the participating agencies would have to make their research open access immediately after its publication. This should be done by making research publications available on compliant open access platforms or journals without monetizing them in any way. \u201c[This is] a huge moment in the fight for open access because it represents the funders finally stepping up to the plate and doing what is necessary to shift the system<\/a>,\u201d says\u00a0open access advocate Michael Eisen, who is the cofounder of\u00a0PLOS<\/i>\u00a0and a geneticist at the University of California. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Plan S principles <\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Plan S is based on 10 principles<\/a> that cOAlition S has outlined. Below is a quick summary of these principles: <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n