NIH Update- July 2024:
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has proposed an update to their existing Public Access Policy that would remove the embargo period. This policy could potentially take effect in October 2025. To learn more about the NIH Public Access Policy, visit the link below:
For further assistance in navigating public access policy changes, continue reading this guide and/or contact the Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development:
Nelson Memo Update- August 2022:
"This memorandum provides policy guidance to federal agencies with research and development expenditures on updating their public access policies. In accordance with this memorandum, OSTP recommends that federal agencies, to the extent consistent with applicable law:
1. Update their public access policies as soon as possible, and no later than December 31st, 2025, to make publications and their supporting data resulting from federally funded research publicly accessible without an embargo on their free and public release;
2. Establish transparent procedures that ensure scientific and research integrity is maintained in public access policies; and,
3. Coordinate with OSTP to ensure equitable delivery of federally funded research results and data."
Note: New administration in U.S. federal governments may affect the implications and/or applications of this memo.
Learn more about the definition of public access and how the Nelson memo works in the following video:
The White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy released the Expanding Public Access to the Results of Federally Funded Research policy memorandum in February 2013. It directed federal agencies to develop plans to make the publications resulting from federally funded research freely available to the public within one year of publication. It also required researchers to better account for and manage the digital data resulting from federally funded scientific research.
The memo is directed to departments and agencies with over $100 million in annual extramural R&D budgets. Federal funding agencies started rolling out their implementation plans in 2014.
Below is a summary table of the agencies that have made their implementation plans public.
| Agency | Pre-Award: Data Management Plan Required?* | Post-Award: Where to Deposit Article | Maximum Publication Embargo | Post-Award: Where to Deposit Data | Link to Policy, Plan, or FAQ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACL/NIDILRR | Yes | PubMed Central (PMC) | 12 months | TBD | Plan |
| AHRQ | Yes | PMC | 12 months | TBD | Plan; Policy |
| CDC | Yes | CDC Stacks, using NIHMS submission system | 12 months | Multiple solutions | Plan |
| DoD | Yes | Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) | 12 months | No specific solution | Memo |
| DOE | Yes | Public Access Gateway for Energy and Science (PAGES) | 12 months | Varies by office | Plan |
| DOT | Yes | DOT National Transportation Library (NTL) | 12 months | TBD | Plan |
| FDA | Yes | PMC | 12 months | Disciplinary data repositories, where available | Plan; Staff Manual |
| IES | Yes | ERIC | 12 months | Researcher choice + data must be available for ≥10 yr. | Policy; Data Guide |
| NASA | Yes | NASA PubSpace (part of PMC) | 12 months | NASA’s Data Portal, other repository, or inclusion of data in publication as supplementary material | FAQ; Plan |
| NIH | Yes | PMC | 12 months | Multiple solutions | FAQ; Plan; Data Sharing Policy; Genomic Data Sharing Policy |
| NIST | Yes | PMC (NIST Interface) | 12 months + NIST reserves right to shorten or extend period | No specific solution + metadata submitted to NIST's Enterprise Data Inventory** | Plan |
| NOAA | Yes, if generating environmental data | NOAA Institutional Repository | 12 months | Multiple solutions short term + NOAA Data Centers for data “worthy” of long term preservation | Plan |
| NSF | Yes | NSF-PAR | 12 months | An "appropriate repository" | Plan; FAQ |
| SI | Yes | SRO, CHORUS | 12 months | SRO, CHORUS, or approved repositories | FAQ |
| USAID | Encouraged, but "Datasets must be submitted" through the DDL | Optional: Development Experience Clearinghouse | N/A | Development Data Library (DDL) | Data Policy |
| USDA | Yes (NIFA) | PubAg | 12 months | TBD | Plan |
| USGS | Yes | USGS Information Product Data System (IPDS) & USGS Publications Warehouse | 12 months | Metadata to the USGS Science Data Catalog + USGS maintains authoritative copy of data | Plan; Summary; USGS Data Management Site |
| VA | Yes | PMC | 12 months | Partner with HHS, NIH, FDA, and DoD on “effective mechanisms" + clinicaltrials.gov | Plan |
*Guidance on most funder's DMP requirements can be found on this DMPTool page.
**Metadata schema should follow guidelines found in the White House's Project Open Data.
Introductory text and table adapted from Columbia University Scholarly Communication Program, under a CC-BY license.
Additional information taken from NCSU Libraries' Funding Agency Guidelines page.