On 25 November 2019 (14.00-16.00 CET), the YERUN Open Science Working Group (OSWG) was delighted to host Neil Jacobs, cOAlition S Interim Programme Manager and Head of Open Science and Research Lifecycle, Jisc, UK, who led a webinar on Plan S and the role of universities. The OSWG was keen to learn about cOAlition S view of universities’ role in delivering Plan S and key priorities for practical actions, given that the hybrid publishing model, including mirror/sister journal publication will not be supported post 2024 by cOAlition S funders.
To deliver Plan S successfully, all stakeholders will need to work together, focused on the end goal – to make research better, reproducible and more efficient by being open in a diverse range of high quality, Green and Gold open access venues that caters for the needs of all disciplines.
While Plan S offers an amazing opportunity for a full transition to Open Access, Neil did not underplay the complexities involved and gave an engaging and honest view of the challenges ahead for universities, funders and publishers in both the presentation and the discussion that followed.
Universities are urged to negotiate hard for Transformative Agreements which meet all the Plan S mandatory requirements and where possible those which are strongly encouraged, looking at the examples of successful negotiation for guidance, such Projekt DEAL, Germany.
It was a fascinating and engaging session, and the WG and YERUN looks forward to continuing to engage with cOAlition S in the months and years to come. Collaboration is key to delivering a successful transition to Plan S.
