Plan S
Plan S came into force on 1 January 2021 and means changed open access conditions for the publication of scientific articles within the framework of FWF projects and within the Horizon Europe Framework Programme of the European Commission.
What is Plan S?
Plan S is an initiative of cOAlition S, an association of funding organisations, including the FWF and the European Commission. The aim is to accelerate the transformation to open access of scientific publications. Following an open consultation process, thefinal guidelines for the implementation of Plan S were published at the end of May 2019.
When does Plan S apply?
Plan S applies to all FWF research projects approved from 1 January 2021 and to all calls under the Horizon Europe Framework after 1 January 2021. That means that scientific articles (with peer review) resulting from these projects must be published open access without delay.
Which open access publications comply with Plan S?
- Publications in gold open access journals or platforms (see DOAJ)
- Secondary publications (self-archiving) in an institutional, interdisciplinary or subject-specific repository (green open access) without embargo
- Publications in subscription journals with an open access option (hybrid open access) that are part of a
publishing agreement (transformative agreement) - The CC BY licence (or an equivalent free licence) must always be used for all publications
What needs to be considered?
cOAlition S has developed the Journal Checker Tool, which supports researchers in the selection of Plan S compatible journals.
In addition, the Rights Retention Strategy has been developed to enable authors to continue publishing in the journal of their choice, including subscription journals, and at the same time comply with the open access requirements of Plan S. This requires an acknowledgement incl. licence on each submission.
From the time of publication, each publication must be deposited in an institutional or discipline-specific repository for long-term archiving .
What will change from 1 January 2024?
The FWF's "Refereed Publications" programme was replaced by the open access block grant on 1 January 2024. Information on the allocation of funding under the FWF block grant at the University of Innsbruck can be found at website of the vice-rectorate for research.