Access to Federally-Funded Research Findings and Data (US0116)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: United States Action Plan 2022-2024 (December)
Action Plan Cycle: 2022
Status:
Institutions
Lead Institution:
Support Institution(s):
Policy Areas
Science & TechnologyIRM Review
IRM Report: United States Action Plan Review 2022–2024
Early Results: Pending IRM Review
Design i
Verifiable: Yes
Relevant to OGP Values: Yes
Ambition (see definition): High
Implementation i
Completion: Pending IRM Review
Description
Many important scientific and tech- nological discoveries, including those that have helped mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic, have been supported by American tax dollars. Yet frequently, the results of such Federally-funded research are out of reach for many Americans, available only for a cost or with unnecessary delays. These barriers to accessing Federally-supported research deepen inequalities, as funding disadvantages faced by under-resourced institutions like minority-serv- ing colleges and universities prevent communities from accessing the results of research that taxpayers have funded. To tackle these obstacles and unlock new possibilities for further innovation and participation in science, the Federal Government previously delivered guidance to agencies to develop plans for greater public access to taxpayer-funded research.
Looking forward, the Biden-Harris Administration is taking new steps to expand and accelerate access to pub- licly-funded research results by ensuring that publications and associated data resulting from Federally funded research are freely and publicly available without delay after publication. Making data underpinning research publications more readily available improves transparency into Federally-supported work, enabling others to replicate and build on research findings. Going forward, the Government commits to supporting access to Feder- ally-funded science and data through several mechanisms, including through the National Science and Technol- ogy Council’s Subcommittee on Open Science; by permitting researchers to include publication and data sharing costs in their research budget proposals to Federal grant programs; by launching programs aimed at awarding more grants to early-stage researchers as well as encouraging a diverse pool of award applicants; and by exploring new incentive structures to recognize institutions and researchers who are supporting public access to data and research.