Public Library Of Science

PLEASE SEE SCHEDULE O FOR COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANIZATION'S MISSION.

SCIENCE AND MEDICAL PUBLISHING ARE THE CORE OF PLOS PROGRAM EXPENSE AT OVER $28 MILLION. THE ACTIVITIES INVOLVED IN OUR PUBLISHING OPERATION INCLUDE: EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION WORK - RECEIPT AND TRIAGE OF SUBMISSIONS; PERFORMING/COORDINATING THEIR PEER REVIEW; AND PRODUCTION AND ONLINE PUBLICATION OF ACCEPTED ARTICLES. MARKETING AND OUTREACH - PROMOTING ARTICLES AND INVITING SUBMISSIONS, INCREASING AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING OF OPEN SCIENCE BENEFITS AND PRACTICES, PROMOTING INITIATIVES SUCH AS CALLS FOR PAPERS, AND CREATING RESOURCES FOR AUTHORS AND REVIEWERS. PUBLISHING ETHICS - HANDLING ETHICAL AND SCIENTIFIC CONCERNS INVOLVING SUBMISSIONS AND PUBLISHED ARTICLES. ENGAGEMENT WITH RESEARCH COMMUNITIES (E.G. BY ATTENDING/ORGANIZING CONFERENCES/EVENTS/WORKSHOPS) - TO ENSURE THE JOURNALS AND THEIR POLICIES REFLECT THE RESEARCH INTERESTS AND VALUES OF THESE FIELDS AND COMMUNITIES. MEDIA - COLLABORATING WITH AUTHORS, INSTITUTIONS, SCIENCE MEDIA CENTERS AND JOURNALISTS TO COMMUNICATE RESEARCH TO BOTH SCIENTISTS AND SOCIETY. THE SCOPE OF PLOS JOURNALS PUBLISHING IN 2021 INCLUDES: PLOS ONE, THE FIRST MULTIDISCIPLINARY OA JOURNAL PUBLISHING ALL TECHNICALLY VALID AND ETHICAL RESEARCH, REGARDLESS OF ANTICIPATED IMPACT. PLOS BIOLOGY, PUBLISHING ARTICLES OF EXCEPTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE, ORIGINALITY AND RELEVANCE IN ALL AREAS OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE, FROM MOLECULES TO ECOSYSTEMS TO DATA-DRIVEN META-RESEARCH. PLOS MEDICINE, WITH ARTICLES IN ALL AREAS OF MEDICAL SCIENCE, CLINICAL PRACTICE AND HEALTH POLICY INCLUDING A VARIETY OF STUDY DESIGNS. PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY, PUBLISHING WORK THAT FURTHERS THE UNDERSTANDING OF LIVING SYSTEMS AT ALL SCALES THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF COMPUTATIONAL METHODS. PLOS GENETICS, FOCUSED ON ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS IN GENETICS AND GENOMICS THAT REFLECT THE FULL BREADTH, INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE AND IMPACT OF THESE FIELDS ON SCIENCE AND MEDICINE. PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES, THE FIRST JOURNAL SOLELY DEVOTED TO CHRONIC AND POVERTY-PROMOTING INFECTIOUS DISEASES, PUBLISHES RESEARCH ON ALL ASPECTS OF NTDS. PLOS PATHOGENS, FIRST OA JOURNAL FOR BREAKTHROUGHS IN UNDERSTANDING PATHOGENS AND THEIR INTERACTIONS WITH HOST ORGANISMS. PLOS GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH, A NEW HOME FOR DIVERSE RESEARCH ADDRESSING GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGES AND INEQUITIES (LAUNCHED IN 2021) JOURNALS OPEN FOR SUBMISSION IN 2021: PLOS CLIMATE, PUBLISHING RESEARCH THAT ADDRESSES THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND DYNAMICS. PLOS DIGITAL HEALTH, PUBLISHING RESEARCH THAT ADVANCES HEALTHCARE THROUGH DIGITAL TOOLS, TECHNOLOGIES, AND DATA SCIENCE. PLOS SUSTAINABILITY AND TRANSFORMATION, PUBLISHING LEADING RESEARCH THAT DRIVES PROGRESS TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY OF OUR RENEWABLE RESOURCES, ECONOMY, AND SOCIETY. PLOS WATER, A NEW HOME FOR ALL RESEARCH RELATED TO WATER AS A VITAL RESOURCE FOR PEOPLE AND THE PLANET.IN ADDITION TO MANAGING THE ABOVE PORTFOLIO OF JOURNALS, IN 2021 PLOS CONTINUED ITS FOCUS ON TWO BROAD AREAS: (1) OPEN SCIENCE PRACTICES AND INITIATIVES AROUND TRANSPARENCY, RECOGNITION, EXPANDED OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEER REVIEW, FIGHTING PUBLICATION BIAS, AND REPRODUCIBILITY; AND (2) DEVELOPING MORE EQUITABLE BUSINESS MODELS TO ENABLE A DIVERSE AND SUSTAINABLE PUBLISHING ECOSYSTEM. WE ALSO BEGAN EXPANDING OUR CAPACITY TO LEARN FROM DIVERSE RESEARCH COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE GLOBE TO CO-CREATE SOLUTIONS FOR A MORE OPEN, EFFECTIVE, AND FAIR RESEARCH ECOSYSTEM. THE FOLLOWING ARE KEY HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR WORK IN 2021: PLOS ESTABLISHED OUR SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COUNCIL COMPRISED OF ACTIVE RESEARCHERS WITH DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES TO HELP US SHAPE OUR EFFORTS TO PROMOTE OPEN SCIENCE, GLOBALLY. PLOS LAUNCHED FIVE NEW JOURNALS SHAPED BY OPEN SCIENCE AND ADDRESSING CRITICAL GLOBAL HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES FROM MULTI-DISCIPLINARY, GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES. WE CONTINUED TO GROW OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH INSTITUTIONS UNDER OUR COMMUNITY ACTION PUBLISHING AND FLAT FEE MODELS TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE AUTHOR PUBLICATION FEES. OUR COMMUNITY ACTION PUBLISHING MODEL, SUPPORTING PLOS BIOLOGY, PLOS MEDICINE, AND PLOS SUSTAINABILITY AND TRANSFORMATION IN EQUITABLY DISTRIBUTING THE COST OF SELECTIVE OPEN ACCESS PUBLISHING, RECEIVED THE APLSP INNOVATION IN PUBLISHING AWARD. IN SUPPORT OF OUR NEW JOURNALS, WE ALSO DEVELOPED AND LAUNCHED A NEW MODEL, GLOBAL EQUITY, WHICH PROVIDES REGIONALLY EQUITABLE PRICING FOR INSTITUTIONS TO SUPPORT OPEN ACCESS PUBLISHING BASED ON THEIR COUNTRY'S ECONOMY AS DEFINED BY WORLD BANK TIERS. WE CONTINUED OUR WORK TO ADVANCE ADOPTION OF OPEN SCIENCE PRACTICES AS WELL AS REFINE AND DEVELOP NEW SERVICES FOR AUTHORS. WE INTRODUCED TWO NEW OPTIONS FOR PUBLISHED PROTOCOLS AT PLOS ONE THAT ENHANCE REPRODUCIBILITY AND TRANSPARENCY OF RESEARCH METHODS, AND AN ENHANCED CODE POLICY AT PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY REQUIRING CODE UNDERLYING A STUDY'S FINDINGS TO BE MADE OPENLY ACCESSIBLE. WE DEVELOPED A NEW POLICY, INCLUSION IN GLOBAL RESEARCH, ADOPTED ACROSS ALL PLOS JOURNALS TO COMBAT PARACHUTE SCIENCE BY IMPROVING TRANSPARENCY IN THE REPORTING OF RESEARCH THAT IS CONDUCTED IN OTHER COUNTRIES OR COMMUNITIES. WE PARTNERED WITH TRAINING CENTER IN COMMUNICATION (TCC AFRICA) TO ENSURE THAT THE INTERESTS AND VALUES OF AFRICAN RESEARCH COMMUNITIES ARE REPRESENTED IN PLOS PUBLICATIONS, POLICIES, AND SERVICES AND TO ENSURE THAT OPEN SCIENCE PRACTICES ARE CO-CREATED BY LOCAL COMMUNITIES AT A GLOBAL SCALE, HELPING US ALL TO REBUILD THE SYSTEM BETTER. PLOS UNDERTOOK SEVERAL RESEARCH PROJECTS TO FACILITATE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF OUR SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING SYSTEM, INCLUDING INVESTIGATIONS INTO HOW RESEARCHERS ASSESS CREDIBILITY AND IMPACT, THEIR MOTIVATIONS FOR SHARING OPEN DATA, AND CHALLENGES FUNDERS AND INSTITUTIONS FACE UNDERSTANDING THEIR RESEARCHERS' OPEN SCIENCE PRACTICES. ALL OUR FINDINGS ARE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE. PLOS CONTINUED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PLAN S PRICE & SERVICE TRANSPARENCY FRAMEWORK, PUBLICLY REPORTING OUR PRICING BREAKDOWN ON OUR BLOG. PLOS CONTINUED OUR PUBLICATION FEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, DESIGNED TO OVERCOME BARRIERS TO IMMEDIATE AVAILABILITY, ACCESS AND USE OF RESEARCH. IN 2021 PLOS PROVIDED $3.3 MILLION IN PARTIAL OR FULL ARTICLE PROCESSING CHARGE (APC) WAIVERS TO AUTHORS. THIS MAJOR PROGRAM EXPENSE, WHICH APPEARS AS A CONTRA-REVENUE FOR FINANCIAL REPORTING PURPOSES, DEMONSTRATES OUR SUPPORT TO SCIENCE AND THE GLOBAL RESEARCH COMMUNITY.