1 February 2019
Wellcome, in partnership with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Association of Learned & Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP), have engaged Information Power to explore a range of potential strategies and business models through which learned societies can make the transition to open access and adapt and thrive under Plan S.
Plan S, developed by the European Commission in partnership with Science Europe, seeks to move to a world where all research findings are made open access (OA).
As the number of researchers covered by Plan S-compliant funding increases it will, in time, put pressure on the business models of many learned societies, which rely on hybrid journal publishing not only to cover their publishing costs, but to generate revenue for other activities they undertake such as hosting meetings/conferences and awarding fellowships and other grants.
Robert Kiley, Head of Open Research at Wellcome said, “Wellcome and UKRI recognise the value learned societies play in supporting researchers and contributing to a vibrant research ecosystem. We are keen for them to be successful in transition to OA in line with Plan S. We are delighted to partner with ALPSP to explore – via the team at Information Power – a diverse array of potential strategies and business models through which learned societies can adapt and thrive to this changing landscape.”
The team – including Alicia Wise, Lorraine Estelle, and Hazel Woodward at Information Power and Yvonne Campfens – will document and develop a range of transition approaches and business models for learned society publishers to consider. These will be developed in dialogue with society publishers, libraries and consortia, funders, society members, and society publishing partners. Pilots will be undertaken with two society publishers. The final report will be published in July 2019, and all materials will be available under a CC BY licence.