cOAlition S
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| cOAlition S | |
|---|---|
| Name | cOAlition S |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Founders | European Commission; Wellcome Trust; Horizon 2020; Research Council of Norway |
| Headquarters | Europe |
| Focus | Open access |
cOAlition S
cOAlition S is an initiative launched in 2018 advocating immediate open access to scholarly publications funded by participating funders. The initiative sought to accelerate transitions from subscription-based journals to open access venues by introducing a set of policies and timelines linked to major funders and research programs. It engaged institutions such as the European Research Council, charities like the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, governments including the United Kingdom and Netherlands, and multilateral programs such as Horizon Europe.
Background and formation
The initiative emerged amid debates involving stakeholders such as the European Commission, Wellcome Trust, Research Councils UK, and national agencies including the Science and Technology Facilities Council and the Swedish Research Council. Influences included precedents from mandates by the National Institutes of Health, policy discussions at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and advocacy from groups like the Public Library of Science and SPARC. The founding period intersected with negotiations among publishers such as Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley-Blackwell, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was shaped by workflows from repositories like PubMed Central and infrastructures including CrossRef and ORCID.
Plan S principles and policies
Plan S set out principles mandating that funded research be made available immediately under open licenses, influencing licensing practices such as Creative Commons terms and interoperability with identifiers like Digital Object Identifier. The policy emphasized publication in open access journals, platforms, or repositories compliant with technical standards from organizations like DOAJ and policies reflected concerns raised by stakeholders including the Royal Society and the Max Planck Society. Financial models addressed transformative agreements negotiated with publishers such as Elsevier and Springer Nature, and compliance mechanisms referenced reporting systems used by funders such as the Wellcome Trust and the European Research Council.
Implementation and member organizations
Member organizations included national agencies like the Research Council of Norway, philanthropic funders such as the Wellcome Trust and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and infrastructure partners like Europe PMC and OpenAIRE. Implementation involved coordination with research institutions such as University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, and national consortia including the VSNU (Association of Universities in the Netherlands) and the Coalition S funders. Negotiations over transformative arrangements involved library consortia like the Big Ten Academic Alliance and publishers including Taylor & Francis and Cambridge University Press.
Reception and controversies
Reactions ranged from endorsement by advocates including Public Library of Science and SPARC to criticism from publishers such as Elsevier and societies like the American Chemical Society. Concerns were voiced by research-intensive universities including Harvard University and disciplinary organizations such as the American Psychological Association about impacts on scholarly societies' revenue models and on early-career researchers affiliated with institutions like Max Planck Society and CNRS. Debates referenced metrics discussions from Clarivate, career evaluation frameworks used by Research Excellence Framework and funding patterns tied to Wellcome Trust and Gates Foundation awards. Legal and trade issues prompted commentary linking to instruments like the Berne Convention and regional policies from the European Union.
Impact and outcomes
The initiative influenced licensing uptake of terms associated with Creative Commons and increased use of repositories such as PubMed Central and Europe PMC, and prompted negotiated transformative agreements between consortia like the VSNU and publishers including Elsevier and Springer Nature. It accelerated policy alignment among funders including the European Research Council, Wellcome Trust, and national agencies like the Research Council of Norway, and affected publishing behavior at outlets such as Nature and Science (journal). Metrics and analysis by organizations like CrossRef and DOAJ tracked growth in open access outputs, while scholarly societies including the Royal Society adjusted position statements responding to budgetary impacts.
Future developments and revisions
Prospects include further coordination with programs such as Horizon Europe and standards bodies like Committee on Publication Ethics and technical platforms including OpenAIRE and CrossRef. Anticipated revisions may address transformative agreements with publishers including Elsevier and Springer Nature, licensing clarifications involving Creative Commons, and compatibility with evaluation systems such as the Research Excellence Framework and databases managed by Clarivate and Scopus. Ongoing dialogues involve stakeholders like UNESCO, philanthropic actors including the Wellcome Trust and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and research infrastructures such as ORCID and Europe PMC.