The European Commission is setting up its own free Open Access publishing platform for scientific articles. The platform will be a peer-reviewed publishing service to support beneficiaries of Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe and related funding schemes to meet the European Union Open Access requirements.
The GYA is part of a consortium, led by F1000 Research, a leading Open Access publisher, and also including Eurodoc and LIBER as partners, that was awarded the contract to build and promote the platform. The GYA has an active Open Science Working Group and works closely together with the global network of National Young Academies. This new collaboration, which will involve outreach and training activities, is also a great opportunity to promote Open Science more generally.
Koen Vermeir, Co-Chair of the GYA says: “Open Science is not the science of the future. It is the science of today. The European Commission clearly shows this by launching their own free Open Access publishing platform, to be developed by F1000 Research. The GYA is delighted to work with them to make this new venture a success. As the current coronavirus tragedy shows us, the free exchange of new scientific information is crucial for a fast, evidence-informed and effective response to global crises. To put it succinctly: Open Science saves lives as well as economies. Scientists should see this as a call to make full use of Open Access platforms such as Open Research Europe.”
In various statements on Open Access (e.g., Plan S; Open Access), European National Young Academies and the GYA have supported the “diamond” Open Access model. The GYA is therefore thrilled that it has the opportunity to help build the newest – and probably soon the largest – diamond Open Access platform in the world. We hope that this will set an example for other governments, funding agencies, and universities to set up similar diamond Open Access scientific publication platforms. Despite the recent push for Open Science, there are currently not enough affordable high quality Open Access outlets. The scientific community, and especially young scientists, are in need of reliable Open Science platforms that ensure quality but do not charge author fees.
The Open Research Europe (ORE) platform will set new standards in this regard and will operate under the highest scientific and publishing standards. It will also manage the entire publication process, from submission to publication, comprising open peer-review, post-publication curation and preservation, with no fees charged to the authors. The platform’s launch is planned for early 2021.
More information is available on the F1000 Research page here.
