Over the past four years, a group of scientific funders have been working together with one goal - to ensure that the results of publicly funded research are made available in open access. Learn more about the history of Plan S.
Over the past four years, a group of scientific funders have been working together with one goal: to ensure that the results of publicly funded research are made available in open access. Learn more about the history of Plan S.
In September 2018, a group of scientific funders decided to adopt a new open access policy: all recipients of funding from them would now be required to publish research results in publications without paywalls. The movement was dubbed "Plan S" and its goal was to "make full and immediate Open Access a reality.
Initially, this decision was born within the European Commission and developed by the Science Europe association. Since then, the movement has evolved towards the creation of an international coalition - cOAlition S - which has been coordinating efforts to implement this plan. The Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), through its unit FCCN, is one of the 20 funding bodies that make up this organization.
The organization assumes 10 basic principles towards one goal: to have all publicly funded research results (regional, national, or international) published in open access journals or platforms or made available, without charge, through Open Access repositories such as RCAAP.
At the basis of Plan S is the idea that "universality is a fundamental principle of science", that is, that "only results that can be discussed, challenged and, where appropriate, tested and reproduced by others qualify as scientific". It is considered that in the 21st century "no science should be imprisoned behind paywalls.
Plan S in Portugal
In Portugal, the FCT has been working on the implementation of Plan S, and it is expected that this process will be finalized during the third quarter of 2022. Throughout 2021, FCT negotiated with most of the publishers present on b-on, contracts that guarantee to authors from b-on institutions, under the conditions negotiated with each of these publishers, the publication in open access, without additional costs.
Already during 2022, efforts have also been underway to prepare the research community for the new open access paradigm.
Also during 2022, FCT will revise and then disseminate its Open Access/Open Science Policy, with the consequent updating of regulations and operationalization of new contracts.
In collaboration with the European Commission and its member organizations, the cOAlition S seeks to coordinate the implementation of the Open Science principles advocated by Plan S. The organization invites all scientific funding bodies, public and private, to "join the cOAlition S".
