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Public Access Policies: Funding Agency Requirements

OSTP Public Access Memorandum

In 2022, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) updated previous guidance (see box below) directing federal agencies to develop public access policies for federally-funded research. This new memo outlines a few key changes for agencies to publish new policies by December 31, 2024 (to become effective no later than December 31 2025). Among the key changes are:

  • Public access policies should be updated "to make publications and their supporting data resulting from federally funded research publicly accessible without an embargo on their free and public release."
  • Now applies to all federal agencies.

Read the 2022 Memorandum

Association of Research Libraries Comparison of the 2013 and 2022 Memos

2013 "Holdren" Memorandum
In 2013, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) directed federal agencies with over $100 million in research and development expenditures to develop plans to support increased access to the results of federally funded scientific research.

Public Access Policies by Agency

Agency Article Repository Embargo Data Repository
AHRQ PubMed Central (PMC) 12 months Commercial repository to be announced
ASPR PMC 12 months Recognized scientific data repository, data.gov registry
CDC CDC Stacks (all), PMC (peer-reviewed) 12 months Multiple solutions + data registry, preferred repository to be announced
DOD Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) 12 months Not specified
DOE Public Access Gateway for Energy and Sciences (PAGES) 12 months Varies by office
FDA PMC 12 months Disciplinary data repository
NASA PubSpace (NASA in PMC) 12 months With article, NASA archives, or other
NEH -- -- Not specified
NIH PMC (see our Guide for details) 12 months Multiple solutions, data discovery index
NIST PMC 12 months In development
NOAA NOAA Institutional Repository 12 months NOAA National Data Centers
NSF NSF Public Access Repository (NSF-PAR) 12 months An "appropriate repository"
SI Smithsonian Research Online (SRO) 12 months, or negotiated SRO or other
USAID -- 12 months Development Data Library (DDL)
USDA USDA public access archive system (PubAg) 12 months USDA registry, other repository to be announced
USGS -- -- Approval required
VA PMC and PubTracker System 12 months --

 

Updated 10/04/2024

Source: http://bit.ly/FedOASummary

Compare Agency Policies with SPARC's Research Sharing tool.

Questions? Ask Us!

Contact your subject specialist for information about Public Access Policies in your field.

Campus Resources

Questions about applicability to a grant-funded project? Contact your OSPA pre-award or post-award staff or call 882-7560.