KEY TAKEAWAY

• Five years after its launch, Robert-Jan Smits calls on the scientific community to remain committed to Plan S.

In an opinion piece for Research Professional News, Robert-Jan Smits emphasises the importance of adhering to Plan S, the revolutionary initiative launched in 2018 by cOAlition S to ensure that publications resulting from publicly funded research are immediately available for all to read. He highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic saw a significant rise in open access publishing, fostering hope that this ‘new normal’ could be sustained. However, despite these initial gains, the journey towards full open access remains slow.

Despite initial gains, the journey towards full open access remains slow.

Key achievements:

• cOAlition S has grown to include 25 organisations, including the World Health Organization.
• The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy adopted an open access policy closely aligned with Plan S principles.
• Transformative agreements between academic institutions and publishers were conceived to speed up commitment to immediate open access.

Despite these successes, significant challenges persist:

• 61% of scientific papers published each year remain behind paywalls.
• Persistent myths equate open access with low-quality, predatory journals.
• Academic libraries struggle with the shift from ‘pay to read’ to ‘pay to publish’.
• Article processing charges (APCs) are often prohibitive.
• Some journals have been too slow in transitioning to open access.

Smits argues for a hard 2024 deadline for transformative agreements to deliver results. He suggests capping APCs to control costs and advocates for transparency in publishing expenses.

Ultimately, Smits is concerned that the course may be changing and fears that initiatives such as diamond open access and not-for-profit open access publishing platforms will not facilitate the significant shifts needed to make full open access a reality.

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