protocols.io - research group on protocols.io

"Effective January 1, 2017, all reseachers with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have to publish their papers in open access (OA) journals. This is a radical and bold move for a funding agency. The first such policy that permits no delays and requires the most progressive open access license (CC-BY).

This is a major step because the top subscription journals not in compliance with the policy now have a tough choice. Nature, Science, and others either have to reject all groundbreaking papers from the Gates-funded researchers, or they make an exception and allow them to publish immediate OA. 

The beauty of this is that either option forces these journals to support the open access shift in a fundamental way. Making an exception for the Gates Foundation means that HHMI, Welcome Trust, NIH, Moore Foundation, and every other funder can change their requirement and demand the same. On the other hand, rejecting all submissions from a top funder whose researchers publish 2,000-2,500 papers each year means that these papers go to eLife, PLOS Biology, and other top OA journals, strengthening those brands."