OSTP unveils implementation dates for federal agency public access policies for R&D

The White House this week released an updated report to Congress on the status of federal research investments, research integrity and the peer review process, unveiling an implementation timeline for R&D policies that coincides with open access publishing of federally funded research. 

As part of ongoing efforts to expand access research and sustain global leadership in R&D, the Office of Science and Technology Policy said its updated agency public access policies  will go into effect by Dec. 31, 2025. , The OSTP report to the Senate and House Appropriations committees noted that those public access policies are intended to “ensure that federal investments unlock knowledge supported by American taxpayers.” 

OSTP focused its report on trends in scholarly publishing, domestic and global developments in advancing public access to research results, and efforts to advance research integrity, which includes federal public access policies and open science practices. 

“The United States government has long-standing commitments to expanding access to the results of research that American taxpayers fund and to sustaining global leadership in research and development,” the report states.

While final policies for public access policies are expected to be finalized and published by Dec. 31, 2024 and subsequently put into effect by the end of 2025, OSTP noted that some agencies have already posted plans for policy development. The report attributed that development to agencies wanting to “both socialize them across their research communities and to provide opportunities for stakeholder engagement and feedback.”

Agencies that have already posted these plans include the Department of Energy, NASA, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Science Foundation and others. 

All “covered agencies” have submitted their plans for policy development to both OSTP and the Office of Management and Budget, per the report. 

OSTP said it has “continued to work closely” with agencies through the National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Open Science to coordinate and establish an implementation process for public access policy development. 

Additionally, the two have worked to promote “alignment in policies across agencies where possible and enabling exchange of best practices.”

OSTP’s report is in compliance with the Joint Explanatory Statement within the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, which required the office to provide this information as well as potential impacts of federal public access policies on peer review and research integrity.