Plan S start date delayed to January 2021

International research funder consortium cOAlition S has delayed the start date of Plan S – the controversial initiative which had aimed to make all government-funded research Open Access from January 2020 – by a year. The formal starting-point for its mandates will now be January 2021.

In a series of revisions made to the Plan S implementation guidance following consultation with stakeholders, the consortium announced the date change, saying the revised timetable “provides more time for researchers, institutions, publishers and repositories to adjust to the required changes and for funders’ policies to develop and take effect.”