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Open Access

Federal Funding Requirements

In 2013, a mandate from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) directed federal agencies with over $100 million in research and development to require public access to articles and data resulting from grant funding. Each agency is responsible for detailing their exact requirements; often there is significant overlap between funders but there are also discipline-specific aspects of the requirements. Generally, those applying for grants will be asked to provide a greater level of detail in their data management plan.

Click on a funding agency or scroll down for information regarding a particular agency's policies about data management.

More information can be found through SPARC's Article and Data Sharing Requirements by Federal Agency database.

Note: In the following table, (A) stands for article and (D) stands for data.

Funder Full Agency Name Embargo Period Designated Repository and Additional Information
AHRQ Agency for Healthcare and Research Quality  Within 12 months (A),
with article publication (D)
A: PubMed Central

D: A suitable data repository
Notes: AHRQ requires all primary data collected by grants, unless confidentiality restrictions prevent the data from being made public. Grant applications will require a data management plan. AHRQ will allow inclusion of appropriate costs for data management in access in applications and proposals.
CDC Center for Disease Control and Prevention Within 12 months (A), with article publication or within 30 months of collection (D) (A): Defense Technical Information Center

(D): There are many options. Researchers should use the repositories available to them, including the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) or CDC WONDER. Other data repository options are under development. 
DOD Department of Defense Within 12 months (A), within a reasonable time (D) (D): Use public repositories. Digitally formatted scientific data sets should be stored and publicly accessible ot search, retrieve, and analyze; publicly releasable primary data, and other supporting materials created in the course of work should be publicly accessible at no more than incremental cost and within a reasonable amount of time.
DOE Department of Energy Within 12 months (A), data sharing policy will be evaluated in Fall 2018 (D) (A): Public Access Gateway for Energy and Science (PAGES)

(D): Data management plan required.
DOT Department of Transportation Within 12 months (A), with article publication (D) (A): National Transportation Library digital repository no later than 12 months following publication

(D): Data management plan required. Researchers will need to propose within the data management plan (DMP) where the data will be deposited at the time of publication. DOT will allow the inclusion of appropriate costs for data management and access in funding proposals. 
FDA Food and Drug Administration Within 12 months (A), with article publication (D) (A): PubMed Central

(D): Data or discipline specific repositories where available.
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration Within 12 months (A), at the time of publication or within a reasonable time period after publication (D) (A): NASA branded portal of PubMed Central

(D): Public access to data requirements may be met by including data with the publication as supplementary material, through NASA archives, or through other means. Data access should be indicated in the published article.
NIH National Institutes of Health Within 12 months (A), at the time of publication (D) (A): PubMed Central

(D): Existing NIH-funded data repositories or other appropriate publicly accessible data repositories
NIST National Institutes of Standards and Technology Within 12 months (A), at the time of publication for supporting data (D) A) PubMed Central

(D): NIST is developing data infrastructure

Notes: An "effective" data management plan is required, which should address all digital data as defined by OMB Circular A-110 and explicitly address data that will support publications.
NOAA National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Within 12 months (A), with publication for supporting data or within one year of collection (D)

(A): NOAA Institutional Repository, using CDC Stacks.

(D): Existing NOAA data centers, other data repositories, interagency Research Data Commons. 

NSF National Science Foundation Within 12 months (A), exploring at time of article publication (D) (A): PAGES 

(D): "Appropriate repository"
SI Smithsonian Institution 12 months or negotiated period (A, D) (A): Smithsonian Research Online or CHORUS

(D): Smithsonian Research Online, approved external repository, CHORUS
USDA US Department of Agriculture Within 12 months (A) (A): PubAg

(D): Unknown
USAID
US Agency for International Development Within months months (D) (A): Unknown

(D): Development Data Library (DDL). If submitted to another data repository, a notice must be submitted to DDL.
USGS US Geological Survey (A): Unknown
(D): Unknown
 
VA US Department of Veteran Affairs Within 12 months (A) (A): PubMed Central

(D): Unknown

If you do not see your funder listed or have additional questions, please contact the Scholarly Communication Librarian, Amanda Zerangue, at azerangue@twu.edu.