Plan S leaders ‘optimistic’ as launch date looms

ESOF 2020: open-access initiative representatives admit barriers remain around infrastructure and culture

Leaders of Plan S have said they are optimistic that the controversial open-access initiative will succeed in finally bringing academic publishing out from behind subscription paywalls after decades of frustratingly slow progress. However, they acknowledged that challenges remain—with just four months to go until the launch date.

“When I see what has happened in the past two years since we launched [the work behind] Plan S, I’m very optimistic that this time we’re on the right track and can really manage to transform the system,” March Schiltz, president of the association of research funders and performers Science Europe, said at the EuroScience Open Forum on 4 September.