Beyond article-based charges working group: an update on progress - The Official PLOS Blog

"Since September 2023, cOAlition S, in partnership with Jisc and PLOS, have been working with a multi-stakeholder working group to identify business models and arrangements that enable equitable participation in knowledge-sharing for the benefit of science and society.  

Comprising librarians, library consortia representatives, funders and publishers, the group’s primary objective is to explore business models that are not article and APC-based. APCs are seen as unfair to authors, but they also lock in article-based publishing models and hinder support for other, more innovative and equitable models.  

Over the course of the group’s initial discussions, it has become apparent that focusing solely on identifying specific business models or arrangements (referred to hereafter as models) that support more equitable knowledge sharing is too simplistic and ultimately will  not lead to a helpful outcome. 

While there is consensus that a model in which neither the author nor the reader pays a fee is more equitable than a subscription or APC-based approach, determining which components make one model more equitable than another is proving more challenging.  For example, when determining equitable arrangements is it more important to weigh transparency around pricing criteria or to consider geographical variations based on local economic conditions?..."