To start with that last question, the person who asked it is curious to know who is going to come after him should he decide to publish in a journal that isn’t on one of the lists of Plan S. “The police, rector Frank Baaijens, or you, the open access expert?” That expert is Marjet Elemans from TU/e's Information Expertise Center, who, before the discussion starts, explains what is known about Plan S at this point and what still needs clarification. At this moment, ten months before its implementation, there are still no lists available of journals that meet the requirements set by Plan S.

Elemans acknowledges that parts of Plan S still remain unclear, but a revised version that will throw some light upon certain matters is expected to appear in May. Her answer to the question whether it will still be allowed to remain on the editorial board of a non-approved journal is a straightforward ‘yes.’ “Plan S makes no mention of that.”

Rector Magnificus Frank Baaijens and the two other members of the Executive Board, Jan Mengelers and Nicole van Ummelen, are also present at this first session. Baaijens agrees that Plan S is still in development but says that TU/e intends to conform to the basic principles of the plan. That means that all scientific publications by TU/e researchers must be made available in open access journals or platforms to everyone. Because those who refuse will no longer receive funding from the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) or any European subsidy organization. “The entire scientific staff at our university will have to deal with this,” Baaijens warns. When asked, he says that in the broader national discussion about a more balanced evaluation and recognition of scientists the transition to open science will have to be included.

Publishers

Within the space of an hour, a great deal of information was presented about several issues, such as the agreements made by the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU) with publishers, the different kinds of journals, the costs of open access and its funding. One researcher expresses his concerns over the possible loss of renowned journals “that the universities helped establish, and that are important to a researcher’s reputation.” Some remain skeptical about the idea that this plan might help break the business model of the major scientific publishing companies.

As far as this last issue is concerned, Baaijens believes steps are being taken. “China has also showed an interest in Plan S and is considering the possibility of joining. As a reaction to this, publishing company Springer Nature published an article last December in which they indicated they are willing to make some adjustments concerning open access.” Baaijens hopes that publishers will ‘switch’ their system, “so the demands of open access can be met, while we preserve the positive elements of this system, such as a thorough peer-review.”

At the end of the discussion, an unorthodox solution was brought forward. One of the scientists present proposed to stop swamping the academic world with ever more publications and to opt for longer and qualitatively better articles instead. “That way, the costs for publication in an open access journal are once-only, and we might start to rid ourselves of that urge to publish excessively.”

Two more dialogue sessions on Plan S will be held next week. One on Monday, February 25 in Helix (STC 0.02) from 12:30 to 14:00, and one on Wednesday, February 27 in Flux (1.02), from 12:00 to 13:30. Both sessions will be held in English.