Plan S is an initiative for open access publishing supported by cOAlition S, an international consortium of research funding and performing organisations. Plan S requires that, from 2021, all scholarly publications that result from research funded by public or private grants provided by 24 funding bodies must be published in open access journals or made immediately available via repositories, without embargo.
cOAlition S funders include the World Health Organisation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, the European Commission, and numerous other international organisations.
If your research has been funded by a cOAlition S funder you must ensure that all scholarly publications resulting from that research are made openly available immediately upon publication, without embargo.
Three pathways to compliance are possible:
NOVA is available to assist staff, students and affiliates of the University with the storage, management and access to research and research related outputs.
However, Plan S stipulates that the responsibility for Article Processing Charges (APCs) lies with the funder and the institution.
The Journal Checker Tool is provided by cOAlition S to support authors to find Plan S compliant journals to publish their articles. The tool allows an author to enter the name of a funder, an institution and the journal to which they plan to submit an article, and checks if this combination of funder, institution and journal offers any route to compliance with Plan S.
Other funding bodies may also include open access compliance requirements included in their funding agreements. Researchers are advised to check their agreement terms closely to ensure compliance.