PLoS business model 100% self-sufficient by 2010

First PLoS progress report is now available online, you can find key highlights of the report from the PLoS blog. Report includes a fairly detailed section on financial sustainability of PLoS business model. Currently
PLoS journals use a business model that recovers expenses —including administration of peer review, journal production, and online hosting and archiving — by charging a publication fee to authors or research sponsors for each article that passes the peer review process.

In past several critics including me remained skeptical about survival of PLoS business model but it appears that PLoS will be 100% self-sufficient by 2010.

During the last three years, PLoS has seen a fivefold increase in operating revenue. As a result, the organization has dramatically increased the proportion of expenses covered by revenue. In 2007 PLoS was self-funding roughly 50% of its operating expenses. By the end of 2009, PLoS predicts that the organization’s funding model will cover approximately 90% of its operating expenses.

PLoS Revenues
Further,

Two of the community journals launched in 2005 — PLoS Genetics and PLoS Pathogens — are already self-sustaining, and PLoS Computational Biology and PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases are expected to cross this threshold in the future.

This financial transformation is a very good indication for future of high quality open access journals, and it was possible due to community wide awareness about open access leading to substantial increase in published volumes and an improved efficiency at management side. Indeed PLoS One has immersed as major cash cow, and no surprise that PLoS One has attained self-sufficiency status very quickly due to high article volume, affordable price, and cost-effective techniques. Once the PLoS has attained the stability one can hope that authors side charges will be more affordable and flexible especially for developing world.

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11 Responses to “PLoS business model 100% self-sufficient by 2010”
  1. 06.23.2009

    @RT2020science: PLoS heading for economically sustainable open access publishing by 2010: http://bit.ly/cW81T – w00t!

  2. RT @2020science: Public Library of Science (PLoS) heading for economically sustainable open access publishing by 2010 http://bit.ly/cW81T

  3. 06.23.2009

    RT @2020science: Public Library of Science (PLoS) heading for economically sustainable open access publishing by 2010 http://bit.ly/cW81T

  4. 06.23.2009

    Neat ! RT @2020science Public Library of Science heading for economically sustainable open access publishing by 2010 – http://bit.ly/cW81T

  5. 06.23.2009

    RT @2020science: Public Library of Science (PLoS)economically sustainable open access publishing by 2010 http://bit.ly/cW81T @christinegeith

  6. 06.23.2009

    Public Library of Science (PLoS) heading for economically sustainable publishing by 2010 – http://bit.ly/cW81T (via @2020science)

  7. 06.23.2009

    @leonnea Public Library of Science (PLoS) heading for economically sustainable publishing by 2010 – http://bit.ly/cW81T (via @jchapoy)

  8. 06.23.2009

    RT @2020science: Public Library of Science = sustainable open access publishing by 2010 http://bit.ly/cW81T 2nd day in row of good OA news!

  9. 06.23.2009

    RT @2020science: Public Library of Science (PLoS) heading for economically sustainable open access publishing by 2010 http://bit.ly/cW81T

  10. 06.23.2009

    RT @bitchinmona Public Library of Science (PLoS) heading for economically sustainable publishing by 2010 http://bit.ly/cW81T (via @jchapoy)

  11. 06.23.2009

    RT @2020science: Public Library of Science (PLoS) heading for economically sustainable open access publishing by 2010 http://bit.ly/cW81T