Research Data Management

In 2022 the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP) released Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research (known as the "Nelson Memo") asking federal agencies to update their public access policies. 

Key Points of the memo:

• The goal of the memo is to provide free, immediate (without embargo), and equitable access to research that is federally funded
• Applies to all federal agencies
• Applies to both peer reviewed publications and underlying scientific data

Timeline & Key Dates

• August 25, 2022: "Nelson Memo" published
• February 21, 2023: Federal agencies with more than $100 million in annual research and development (R&D) expenditures submit their new or updated public access policies
• August 20, 2023: Federal agencies with $100 million or less in annual R&D expenditures submit their new or updated public access policies
• December 31, 2024: Final public access policies due - Deadline for agencies to publish final policies addressing all requirements outlined in the memo
• December 31, 2025: New policies are in effect (New policies will be in effect no later than this date)

What research outputs does this effect?

The "Nelson Memo" indicates that plans developed by federal agencies should address both “peer reviewed publications” and “scientific data.”

• Peer-reviewed publications include "peer-reviewed research articles or final manuscripts published in scholarly journals, and may include peer-reviewed book chapters, editorials, and peer-reviewed conference proceedings published in other scholarly outlets that result from federally funded research.”
   
• Scientific data include: "the recorded factual material commonly accepted in the scientific community as of sufficient quality to validate and replicate research findings. Such scientific data do not include laboratory notebooks, preliminary analyses, case report forms, drafts of scientific papers, plans for future research, peer-reviews, communications with colleagues, or physical objects and materials, such as laboratory specimens, artifacts, or field notes." In addition, scientific data do not include data subject to legal, privacy, ethical or other similar restrictions or limitations.

The links below provide access to a variety of data-related policies that may apply to your research. These policies outline expectations for data management, sharing, and preservation. The additional resources provided can help you determine which policies are relevant to your project and ensure that your research practices align with applicable requirements.

• NSF Data Sharing Policy

  “Investigators are expected to share with other researchers, at no more than incremental cost and within a reasonable time, the primary data, samples, physical collections and other supporting materials created or gathered in the course of work under NSF grants. Grantees are expected to encourage and facilitate such sharing.”

• NIH Data Sharing Policy

  The NIH Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Policy promotes the responsible management and sharing of scientific data from NIH-funded or conducted research. It requires researchers to submit and follow approved Data Management and Sharing Plans, and encourages broad data sharing while allowing for justified exceptions.

• NIH Genomic Data Sharing

  NIH expects the broad and responsible sharing of human as well as non-human genomic data resulting from NIH-funded research because the timely sharing of research results can accelerate discoveries that improve our ability to diagnose, treat, and prevent disease.

• Policy Updates - Columbia University 
  A list of public access mandates and resources curated by Columbia University. Contains information on federal requirements as well as US private funders.
   
• Article and Data Sharing Requirements by Federal Agency

  This community resource for tracking, comparing, and understanding both current and future U.S. federal funder research data sharing policies is a joint project of SPARC & Johns Hopkins University Libraries.