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When you choose to publish with PLOS, your research makes an impact. Make your work accessible to all, without restrictions, and accelerate scientific discovery with options like preprints and published peer review that make your work more Open.

Community Action Publishing

We’re working with institutions to build a new, more equitable future for Open Access.

We’re partnering with your institutions to eliminate author publication fees for our most selective journals. 

We’ve asked your institution to help us build a new model for Open Access that would make PLOS Biology, PLOS Medicine, and PLOS Sustainability and Transformation both open to read and open to publish.

INTRODUCING PLOS CAP

Beginning January 1, 2021, PLOS Community Action Publishing (CAP) ensures publication fees for accepted manuscripts at PLOS Biology and PLOS Medicine will automatically be covered if the authors’ institutions are members of our journal communities. We’re excited to announce this model is also available for PLOS Sustainability and Transformation.

HOW IT WORKS

Community Action Publishing takes into account the contributions of every author — not just corresponding authors — to help distribute publishing costs equitably among the institutions who support them. This ensures institutional members are charged a fair fee based on their authors’ publication history at PLOS, or (in the case of PLOS Sustainability and Transformation), historical research output in the field. Their membership guarantees funding for their authors’ future publications. That way, if your paper is accepted at PLOS Biology, PLOS Medicine, or PLOS Sustainability and Transformation, your publication costs are automatically covered.

Tell your institution you want their support to eliminate author fees. Refer your librarian to us so we can explain how they can support you.

WHY PLOS?

How does PLOS CAP change Open Access publishing?

Community Action Publishing will more equitably distribute the cost of publishing among a broad community of institutions so that their researchers can publish in the journal that’s right for them, without worrying about publication fees.

Makes selectivity more accessible

Selectivity remains an important tool for researchers to demonstrate the high caliber of their work, but the journal costs are inherently more expensive. CAP equitably distributes costs so that selectivity and Open Access are equally accessible to authors.

Provides equitable opportunities to publish

Our goal is to make PLOS Biology, PLOS Medicine, and PLOS Sustainability and Transformation truly open to read and open to publish for authors from every career stage, geographic location and funding background. Institutional support broadens authors’ choices. Authors from Research4Life countries are also automatically covered. 

Frees authors from administering the fee process

Institutions guarantee funding for their authors’ future publications by joining our journal communities. That way, the next time your work is accepted there will be no publication fees. You’ll only need to list your affiliation.

MANUSCRIPT ELIGIBILITY

In order to equitably distribute the cost of selective publishing, we need every institution whose authors submit or co-author a paper to join our journal communities and cover the costs of their researchers’ publications. If any author’s institution is not a member, accepted manuscripts may be subject to a non-member fee.

View the non-member fees

Learn more 

Tell your institution you want their support

We’re contacting every institution whose authors frequently publish in PLOS Biology and PLOS Medicine, as well as institutions with historical research output fields covered in PLOS Sustainability and Transformation, and our journal communities are growing. 

Check to see if your institution is a member

If your institution hasn’t joined yet, hearing from you could make a difference. Refer your librarian to us so we can explain how they can support you.

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