Plan S has fundamentally re-shaped academic publishing. As we emerge from the pandemic it should not return to how it was before

Taking stock of what Plan S – a funder-led initiative to deliver widespread open access to research – has achieved since its conception and launch in 2018, Rachael Pells and Robert-Jan Smits discuss their new book, Plan S for Shock, available open access from Ubiquity Press. In making the case for Plan S and open access more broadly, they argue that crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrate the necessity of openness in addressing global challenges.