It is important to note that the global “scholarly communication community” addressed by Plan A is vague and amorphous. However, this community also has much in common, and it shares common goals and interests (see OSI’s Common Ground paper for more detail). It is in this broad sense that we speak of community—not with the unrealistic expectation that every organization currently working in this space will or should stop what they are doing, leave their disagreements aside, abandon their own priorities and join hands, but with the knowledge that ample common ground exists in this community to support common action that benefits everyone everywhere. The vast majority of stakeholders in this space are not, after all, ideologically attached to any one particular approach—most are simply trying to figure out what to do with regard to open policies. In addition, even groups who may be invested in one particular approach or perspective share a common desire to improve open. The contributions to openness supported by this plan—studies, infrastructure development, common ground collaborations, and education/outreach—will help all groups in this space and will help advance open for everyone.
With regard to enacting this plan, participants will decide how best to jointly manage Plan A and its activities. OSI will be the initial manager until such time as decided otherwise by the group, under a governance plan to be released at a later date. The goal is for Plan A to be fully operational by mid-2020 (i.e., beginning to work on targeted projects, studies, outreach, and other to-do items), with work continuing for as long as funding and interest continue.
