Open Access and Plan S: 5 key activities - Plan S

The emerging Coronavirus (COVID19) has once again highlighted the need for researchers for have unfettered access to the research literature. Indeed, a recent article in the Guardian argued that “hiding research papers behind a subscription paywall, could be killing people”, whilst a group of . US patient and disease advocacy organizations stated that “information critical to health should no longer be held hostage by arcane publishing”.

However, despite such concerns and calls for change, and after more than 15 years of Open Access (OA) mandates, declarations and discussions, some 75% of the world’s research literature is, on publication, only available to paying subscribers.

Although in the case of COVID19, publishers have been quick to provide access to previously paywalled research on this topic – for example, see responses from Wiley and Elsevier – a much better solution, and one which works across all disciplines at all times, is to support a world when all research is open access. This is what Plan S is seeking to do, and why 24 research funding organisations are supporting this initiative.