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Helping Learned Societies Explore Plan S-compliant Business Models

30/11/2018

cOAlition S members, Wellcome and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), in partnership with and the Association of Learned & Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP), are seeking to engage the services of a consultant to explore a range of potential strategies and business models through which learned societies could adapt and thrive under Plan S.

Plan S seeks to move to a world where all research findings are made Open Access.  Participating funders will no longer fund Article Processing Charges (APCs) for hybrid Open Access journals.  The only way a researcher can publish in such a journal would be if the journal allowed them to deposit their accepted manuscripts in a suitable repository at the time of publication, without embargo, under a CC BY licence.

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 events and awarding fellowships or other grants.

Wellcome and UKRI recognise the value learned societies play in supporting researchers and contributing to a vibrant research ecosystem. As such, Wellcome, UKRI, and ALPSA wish to engage the services of a consultant to explore a range of potential strategies and business models through which learned societies could adapt and thrive under Plan S.

The envisaged consultancy will include:

  • looking at the various business models available to learned societies
  • convening a stakeholder meeting to discuss these options and,
  • working with a small number of learned societies, explore whether any of these options might be viable, and if so, what would be needed to implement that approach

Other approaches – which help support learned societies transition to a financially sustainable, Plan S-compliant, publishing model – will also be considered.

Although the envisaged work will have broad applicability for all learned societies, the focus of this work should be those which predominantly serve UK researchers and in disciplines relevant to UKRI and Wellcome’s funding areas.

If you would like to submit a proposal for this project:

The deadline for submitting a full proposal is 09.00 on Monday 14th January 2019. For more information on this call please visit the Wellcome website.