Recently a new public access policy was issued from the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) outlining updated requirements for research conducted using public funds. This memorandum, Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research, was released by Dr. Alondra Nelson, the head of OSTP, dated August 25, 2022 (Nelson Memo). It instructs federal departments and agencies to update their policies to ensure all publications resulting from federally funded research are made freely and publicly accessible without any embargo. The plans are to be completed and published by December 31, 2024, with an effective date within a year of publication.
Since 2013, federal agencies have been operating under the OSTP Memorandum on Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Research (2013 Memorandum). This directed all federal departments and agencies with over $100 million in annual research and development expenditures to develop a plan to increase access to publicly funded research, including access to publications and data resulting from that research.1
According to the Nelson Memo, “The 2013 Memorandum helped to reshape the landscape for data and research by sharing results freely and openly with the public and the scientific community.”1 However, the main limitation of the 2013 Memorandum was the 12-month embargo on free access to the results of federally funded research. Only those who paid or had access to scholarly journals through an institutional account could read and use the information for one year.
The Nelson Memo describes the open and freely shared research related to COVID-19 as a case study on how cooperation between government, industry, and scientists can lead to great benefits for society. Allowing free and immediate access to data and research through a zero science embargo policy could provide similar benefits in other areas such as climate change, economic disparities, and cancer.
In addition to ending the research embargo, the Nelson Memo states that federal agencies should update their data sharing plans and make the scientific data underlying the research freely available and publicly accessible at the time of publication. The Nelson Memo also expands the policy to include all federal agencies that use any federal research funds, in contrast to the previous inclusion of only those with over $100 million annual research expenditures.
According to the White House, “This policy update reflects extensive public engagement with stakeholders across the research publication ecosystem on ways to strengthen equitable access to federally funded research results.”2 The OSTP will continue to work with these agencies to support the development of their updated public access and data sharing plans.
Potential impact on stakeholders
This new zero science embargo policy potentially impacts different stakeholders in various ways. Open access has been embraced by authors, academic libraries, science advocates, and Congressional leaders. Other groups, notably publishers of scholarly research, are understandably concerned about the impact this policy will have on revenue and their future existence.
A continued increase in open access will benefit students and early career researchers whose work will have a wider exposure. In addition, because libraries cannot subscribe to every journal, researchers will also benefit by having immediate access to a greater number of scholarly journals.
Research universities and libraries are also embracing the plan. The Association of Research Libraries expressed enthusiastic support for the measure, stating that “Equitable and enduring access to information is the mission of research libraries and, collectively, we applaud the OSTP’s update to make research immediately accessible.”3 Similarly, OSTP’s updated policy is being applauded by the Association of American Universities.
Open access publishers, such as PLOS, support the new policy as they are already providing free and immediate access to their articles. However, the biggest concern about the Nelson Memo and especially the zero research embargo policy is its potential impact on peer reviews and the viability of the current journal subscription model. Traditional academic publishers are therefore understandably apprehensive about the change.
Although the Nelson Memo is directed solely toward agencies and researchers receiving federal funding and does not attempt to regulate the publishing industry, the overwhelming opinion is that it will have a major impact on the future of scholarly journals. For example, Clarke & Esposito state that “A zero embargo will likely (eventually) make the subscription model unfeasible for many, if not most, journals and will necessitate increases in agency funding to support publication costs.”4 The Nelson Memo does include a provision for allowing federal funding to offset some publication costs.
Shelley Husband, a senior vice president at the Association of American Publishers, also believes the plan will have an enormous impact on the industry. In a statement, she indicated that ending the research embargo creates concerns “about business sustainability and quality.”5 In addition, she expressed concerns that the new guidelines were developed without sufficient consultation with the publishing industry.
The Nelson Memo has elicited many reactions, both positive and negative, from a wide variety of sources. However, all of the stakeholders seem to agree that the policy update includes numerous nebulous areas. For example, the guidelines pertaining to making research data available are not clear. In addition, there have been comments concerning the repeated use of the word “should” in the memo instead of any indication of requirements. All stakeholders, therefore, need to stay tuned for further clarifications.
References
- Nelson, Alondra. OSTP Memo : Ensuring free, immediate, and equitable access to federally funded research”, August 25, 2022. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/08-2022-OSTP-Public-Access-Memo.pdf
- White House Press Release: https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/08/25/ostp-issues-guidance-to-make-federally-funded-research-freely-available-without-delay
- Aiwuyor, J. ARL celebrates Biden-Harris administration’s historic policy to make federally funded research immediately available. Association of Research Libraries. https://www.arl.org/news/arl-celebrates-biden-harris-administrations-historic-policy-to-make-federally-funded-research-immediately-available/
- Clark and Esposito. Zero Embargo. August 2022. https://www.ce-strategy.com/the-brief/zero-embargo/
- Brugger, K. Publishers protest Biden’s free research plan. Greenwire. August 29. 2022. https://www.eenews.net/articles/publishers-freak-out-over-bidens-free-research-plan/
