Sustainable Open Access in Quebec and Canada? The Impact of Plan S on FRQ-Funded Researchers
Wednesday May 14, 2025
From 12:00pm to 12:15pm
Granting agencies play a key role in advancing sustainable open access (OA) scholarship globally and in Canada. Plan S, a European initiative by cOAlition S, has catalyzed global shifts towards immediate OA. Its relevance to Canada grew significantly in 2022 when Québec’s granting agency, Fonds de Recherche du Québec (FRQ), joined cOAlition S, mandating increased researcher compliance with open knowledge practices. This presentation builds on our previously published research to analyze the revised FRQ 2022 OA policy’s impact on Québec researchers (Harris et al., 2024). As the Tri-Agency contemplates a similar policy shift, the research results are timely for sustainability concerns for researchers across Canada.
Our study examines OA publishing options for FRQ-funded researchers under its 2019 and 2022 policies to assess the impacts of Plan S. Using DOI registration data from Crossref, we extracted and analyzed FRQ-supported publications from 2020-2022. We also assessed the role of transformative agreements negotiated through the Canadian Research Knowledge Network in expanding OA pathways. Our findings show that self-archiving opportunities are reduced under the revised FRQ policy, pushing more researchers toward article processing charges (APCs). This shift raises concerns regarding the financial sustainability of OA publishing, particularly for researchers facing increased costs.
This presentation highlights findings, outlines the financial implications of APCs in an immediate OA environment, and briefly explores the diamond OA movement’s potential. We underscore the need for collaborative efforts among key stakeholders—funders in Quebec and Canada, institutions, and libraries —to address financial barriers and ensure an equitable transition to immediate OA for Canadian scholarship.
Speakers
Interim Associate Dean for Library Technology
McGill University Libraries
