The FWF Supports the Open Access Initiative ‘cOAlition S’
Publishing Date:
Science without publication paywalls: ‘cOAlition S’ for the realisation of full and immediate Open Access
A new initiative, jointly developed a core group of European Research Funding Organisations, Science Europe, and the European Commission's Special Envoy on Open Access, has taken a decisive step towards the realisation of full Open Access. On 4 September the collective launched ‘cOAlition S’ a collective declaration of commitment by research funders whereby, after 1 January 2020, result from research funded by public grants provided by participating funding bodies, must be published in compliant Open Access journals or on compliant Open Access platforms. It is built around Plan S, which was announced at ESOF in Toulouse in July 2018.
Researchers and research funders have a collective duty of care for the science system as a whole. The current publication paywalls withhold a substantial amount of research results from a large fraction of the scientific community and from society as a whole. No science should be locked behind paywalls as this hinders the scientific enterprise in its very foundations and hampers its uptake by society.
The 11 national research funding organisations that form cOAlition S, together with the European Research Council, have agreed to implement the 10 principles of Plan S in a coordinated way. Other funding agencies are invited to join cOAlition S. The European Commission, through a statement by Commissioner Moedas, has also declared its support.
For further information on cOAlition S visit: http://scieur.org/coalition-s