New Public Access Requirements for Federal Funding Agencies: What USC Researchers Need to Know

It is unclear whether policies, including the Public Access Requirements for Federal Funding Agencies, will be implemented by the current presidential administration. The 2022 OSTP Memo has been removed from the White House website; however, you can access an archived version from the Internet Archive's WayBack Machine. Despite the uncertainties surrounding the future of the 2022 OSTP Memo, the websites for federal funding agency still include information on the upcoming implementation of public access policies. We will update this guide as we receive additional information. 

In August 2022, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a memorandum called Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research. This document is also known as the Nelson Memo. The memo requires every federal funding agency to update or create an open access policy. Funding agencies must also establish procedures to ensure scientific and research integrity.

1.  All federal funders will release public access policies that will go into effect no later than the beginning of 2026.
    
2. The memo stipulates that funders’ public access policies must require funded researchers to publicly release their publications and supporting data without embargo and at the time of publication.
    
3. Funders will establish researcher responsibilities for how federally funded data will be shared, including provisions for “any potential legal, privacy, technical, intellectual property, or security limitations” and “any/or any other potential restrictions or limitations on data access, use, and disclosure,” allowing the complexities of data sharing to be handled in a way that makes sense for those disciplines served by each agency.
    
4. Federal funding agencies must allow researchers to “include reasonable publication costs and costs associated with submission, curation, management of data, and special handling instructions as allowable expenses” in proposal budgets. The memo does not suggest that researchers must pay Article Processing Charges (APCs) to make their work open access.
    
5. The focus on increased scientific and research integrity will require increased use of permanent identifiers like DOIs and ORCID IDs, as defined in the NSPM 33 Implementation Guidance. Funding agencies will publish their plans for ensuring research integrity no later than December 31, 2026, which will go into effect no later than one year after the agency plan is published. These provisions will also require a minimum standard of metadata to be associated with publications and data resulting from federally funded research.

1. Publish your scholarly publications open access, or ensure that your publishing contract allows for you to make the final manuscript freely available and publicly accessible immediately after publication. The USC Libraries holds several agreements with publishers to reduce or eliminate the cost of publishing open access for researchers, and guidance is available on managing your copyright. Taking steps to make your research publicly available now will prepare you for upcoming requirements. 
    
2. Create Data Management Plans (DMPs) for all research projects. The Libraries provides researchers with DMPTool, a free resource to develop machine-actionable DMPs that can be reviewed by a librarian. Having experience creating DMPs will allow you to feel more comfortable with future research data requirements. 
    
3. Consult the Research Data Librarian to determine a suitable location for making your funded research data publicly available, if appropriate. Begin the practice of archiving your research data in established repositories. 
    
4. Use Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) for your research and your research identity. Confirm that your publications are assigned a DOI through your publisher. Create your ORCID, a free, unique, persistent identifier for you as a researcher and ensure that your record stays updated. Using PIDs will prepare you to comply with federal agency requirements. 

Keep track of updated guidance from federal funders here:

• The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) collects and summarizes federal agency policies, plans, and previous requests for information.
   
• NSPM-33 describes how federal agencies conducting research and/or awarding research funds can establish Persistent Identifiers for researchers.
   
• ORCID grants researchers Persistent Identifiers to comply with the requirements of NSPM-33 and the OSTP memo requirements.
   
• The White House offers answers to FAQs on the 2022 policy guidance.