Plan S - A contribution from the Social Sciences and Humanities scientific community

In response to the consultation on Plan S, EASSH has submitted a paper and some key recommendations for the implementation task force. In the paper, EASSH recognises Plan S overall principles to make available and affordable the results and publications of publicly funded research. However, we raise concerns about the implementation and its timetable, which could hamper European research for years to come and we flag possible unintended adverse effects on the next generation of scholars in Europe. We address three main areas of concern: (a) quality and licences; (b) impact on European scholars’ career in a fair and competitive international research system; (c) infrastructures and OA platforms (including impact on learned societies). We propose a set of recommendations to facilitate the next phase of implementation.