Community Action Publishing
Partner with us to make selective publishing more equitable
We want to ensure all authors have the same freedom in choosing the best journal for their research. Our Community Action Publishing (CAP) agreement aims to eliminate author APCs in order to make our most selective open access journals truly open to read and open to publish. PLOS CAP changes the way we think about selectivity and authorship for a more equitable open access future.
How it works
Cost to publish is assessed based on publication needs of both corresponding and contributing authors so the cost of publishing is distributed more equitably among representative institutions.
Institutions commit to a yearly fee, ensuring their researchers receive access to unlimited publishing opportunities in PLOS Biology, PLOS Medicine, and PLOS Sustainability and Transformation.
Any revenues above the cost recovery target will be redistributed to participants in the form of reduced fees the following year. Our margins are capped so the more institutions who join in this effort, the lower costs become for all.
Why we need you
Our collective action agreement is the first sustainable open access solution that protects authors from the rising costs of selectivity. Eventually, we hope to eliminate APCs for all authors. But we need your help for it to work.
In order to provide truly equal access, we need a majority of our partner institutions to participate to hit each community’s revenue target. Revenue beyond that target will be redistributed to community members the following year.
“We have a responsibility to dismantle the standards, policies, practices, and procedures that have been designed to exclude many from reaping the full benefits of the scholarly publishing system. The scholarly communications systems needs to change and we must have the courage to act now.”
Elaine Westbrooks, Carl A. Kroch University Librarian
Cornell University
Choose the right institutional agreement for you
We recognise that all institutions are different. We offer different options for institutions that reflect the diverse research needs of our communities.
Frequently asked questions
If you have any questions about our institutional agreements and how they can benefit your institution, we recommend exploring our FAQ section.
All PLOS partnership agreements are subject to PLOS’ Master Publishing Terms of Service. Institutions or consortia that wish to partner with us should contact us for further information.