Press Release

Open Access gathers momentum: 10 organisations pledge financial support

To support the implementation of Plan S, the European Science Foundation, in partnership with cOAlition S, will host and operate a newly established cOAlition S office.  To date, 10 funders, including national funding agencies and philanthropic organisations, have pledged support of over €2m for this activity.

Plan S is an initiative for Open Access publishing, which requires that from 2021 scientific publications that result from research funded by public grants must be published in compliant Open Access journals or platforms. The plan is supported by cOAlition S, an international consortium of research funders.

Noting that returns on investment from scientific research can best be achieved by open and timely publication of results, the European Science Foundation (ESF) has been an advocate of Open Access for many years through various publications and policy discussions1. ESF has now partnered with the leaders of cOAlition S to move towards a larger scale implementation.

Paving the way for Plan S execution

Starting January 2020, ESF will be hosting and operating the cOAlition S Executive Office at its headquarters in Strasbourg. This partnership comes at a crucial time for cOAlition S, since Plan S comes into effect from 2021. Additionally, the cOAlition S Board recently decided to formalize its structure. The consortium will be led by a Leaders Group to develop its strategy supporting Plan S. An Executive Steering Group will coordinate and implement the strategy, supported by Task Forces and Expert groups.

In this framework, the cOAlition S Executive Office will support the cOAlition S governance to achieve its priority actions towards the implementation of Plan S. In addition to fostering public outreach and dissemination, the cOAlition S office will liaise with the cOAlition S committees, providing staffing, office space, and facilities. An opening for cOAlition S Programme Manager is currently being advertised here: https://tinyurl.com/ESFcoalitionS-ProgrammeManager

In this new implementation phase of Plan S, it is great to have the opportunity to promote Plan S policies with a full-time staff and back office at ESF that will be supported by the Experts of the participating Funders, as well as by the group of Ambassadors”, stated Johan Rooryck, cOAlition S Champion.

Marc Schiltz, President of Science Europe, and chair of the cOAlition S leaders group said: “I am glad that 10 cOAlition S funders have joined efforts and cooperate with ESF in providing a solid support platform and funding which are needed for the successful implementation of Plan S”.

Commenting on the cooperation, Martin Hynes, ESF’s President, noted: “ESF is very pleased that cOAlition S has brought such commitment to bear over a short time. We shall enjoy working with them to support the progressive implementation of their policies”.

To date the cOAlition S office will be financed by (in alphabetical order): Academy of Finland, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dutch Research Council (NWO), FORMAS – Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development, FORTE - Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, FWF Austrian Science Fund, Luxembourg National Research Fund, Research Council of Norway, United Kingdom Research and Innovation, Wellcome Trust.


Notes for Editors

European Science Foundation (ESF): The European Science Foundation (ESF) is a non-profit organisation committed to promoting the highest quality science in Europe to drive progress in research and innovation.  ESF operates in the EU and wider European environment and collaborates with major scientific stakeholders.  With over 45 years’ experience in all areas of research, ESF works closely with its members and partners sharing its expertise and establishing diverse partnership opportunities to support scientific decision-making. It currently hosts five Expert Boards and societies (CRAF: Radio-astronomy frequencies, NUPECC: Nuclear physics, ESSC: Space sciences, the Europlanet Society, and the European Astrobiology Institute.  ESF’s Community of Experts plays a vital role in sustaining scientific collaboration and supporting excellence in grant and programmatic evaluation. Today it comprises over 8,000 key experts in all scientific disciplines.

cOAlition S is an initiative of a group of national research funding organisations, supported by the European Commission and the European Research Council (ERC), in order to make full and immediate Open Access to research publications a reality.  cOAlition S was born from the cooperation between the Heads of the participating Research Funding Organisations, Marc Schiltz, President of Science Europe, and Robert-Jan Smits, former Open Access Envoy of the European Commission.

Media contact

ESF Communications

Maria Karatzia, +33 (0) 3 88 76 71 00, media[at]esf[dot]org