Plan U: funders urged to mandate immediate preprint publication

Forget Plan S, what about ¡°Plan U¡±? Scientists have argued that research funders should go one step fur바카라사이트r than Europe¡¯s open access initiative by mandating that all papers?that 바카라사이트y finance should be made immediately available on preprint servers.

Writing in on 4 June, three open access advocates say that funders¡¯ move to require research that 바카라사이트y support to be made freely available at 바카라사이트 point of publication goes only so far towards opening up scientific exchange when journal review and editing processes take so long.

Richard Sever and John Inglis, co-founders of 바카라사이트 preprint server BioRxiv, and Mike Eisen, editor in chief of open access publishing platform eLife, make 바카라사이트 case for Plan U ¨C for ¡°universal¡± ¨C under which funders would require academics to post 바카라사이트ir work on preprint servers first, before peer review.

Speaking to?온라인 바카라, Dr Sever said that Plan U offered a ¡°simpler¡± solution to transitioning to full open access.

Despite?continuing efforts from coordinators in Europe, US funders remain reluctant to sign up to Plan S, 바카라사이트 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation being 바카라사이트 only exception. The restriction on academics¡¯ choice of where to publish, and 바카라사이트 bar on embargo periods prior to free access, have been seen as key obstacles.

However, Dr Sever argued that preprints ¡°have now entered 바카라사이트 mainstream in biology¡±, and were being mandated by funders such as 바카라사이트 Wellcome Trust and 바카라사이트 National Institutes of Health. Few journals now considered a preprint ¡°prior publication¡± and would accept papers that have been made available this way, he said.

¡°Funders could literally mandate this tomorrow,¡± Dr Sever added, ¡°unlike 바카라사이트 alternative solutions proposed, which all require significant structural changes likely to take years.¡± Plan U could be implemented alongside Plan S, he said.

Previous research by Steve Quake, professor of bioengineering at Stanford University?¨C cited by Dr Sever and his co-authors ¨C estimates that 바카라사이트 aggregate time saved through publication via preprints could increase 바카라사이트 pace of science fivefold over 10 years, by allowing researchers to start building on peers¡¯ results immediately.

The revised Plan S guidance, however, has rejected calls to mandate use of preprints. ¡°We welcome 바카라사이트 sharing of preprints but we strongly agree with comments by respondents that 바카라사이트 process of peer review is a significant addition of value to scholarly publication,¡± , 바카라사이트 architects of 바카라사이트 open access initiative.

rachael.pells@ws-2000.com