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Forskningsverden got a surprise now in the late summer when the european research council, ERC, withdrew support for what is known as Plan S. Plan S is a strategy to make the research available for everyone by ensuring that the research results will be published on open platforms, and not in closed journals with expensive subscriptions. The plan is developed by a coalition of national and international research organizations, including the Norwegian research council.

Current situation has long garnered criticism, and rightly so. There is talk about a scheme that adds up to dobbeltbetaling for academic research: First, that the public pays for the research activity itself, then by the fact that the published results are only available to those who pay for it. With other words: As a taxpayer you are funding large amounts of research, but the research produces, you will not see. The major journals and the publishers are the ones who have earned rough on this scheme, and it is understandable that forskerorganisasjonene trying to get as much of the research over on platforms where everyone can read it.

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at the same time, it is not so simple either. Magazines driver with important quality assurance and facilitation of the drug which is not free. If not, the subscribers pay for this work, it is unclear who should do it. The ERC provide that reason to withdraw, is that the coalition behind the Plan S do not want it to be possible for researchers who have received research funding from them to publish in the so-called "hybridtidsskrifter", where there still will be a form of betalingsmur.

the Scientists will thus be forced to opt-out from prestigious journals that still charge, and choose the so-called "open access"channels. As ERC points out, it can in particular go beyond the young researchers, who need to showcase their research in the most famous magazines in order to be able to build a name for themselves. Those who have felt themselves overridden by the major journals will still be overridden, but now of forskningsorganisasjonene.

the Road from better access to research requires a balancing act. The desire to get the commercialization in the sector to life must be balanced against the limitations that researchers in a vulnerable situation can experience because of new regulations. At the same time as it is all the more reason to support efforts to make research available for several, the process must ensure that other considerations also are taken care: Considerations for quality assurance of forskningsartiklene and to the scientists ' freedom.

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