Public Access (2024)

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Public Access supports our Open Government goals by making the results of federally funded research, including peer-reviewed scientific publications and digital data, readily available to the public.

Background

On February 22, 2013, the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Dr. John Holdren, issued a memorandum to all agency and department heads entitled, “Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research.” The memo directed federal agencies with more than $100 million in annual conduct of research and development to develop plans for increasing public access to peer-reviewed scientific publications and digital data resulting from federally funded research investments.

Agency Implementation Plans

Within HHS, five operating divisions meet this threshold: the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ), and the Administration for Community Living (ACL). Each of the operating divisions has developed its own public access implementation plan, in accordance with the Department’s common approach.

• NIH’s Public Access Plan
• FDA’s Public Access Plan
• CDC’s Public Access Plan
• AHRQ’s Public Access Plan
• ACL's Public Access Plan

Guiding Principles and Common Approach

The HHS operating divisions aligned their work through a common set of guiding principles and a framework around which they could develop implementation plans tailored to the needs of their research communities, taking into account their unique missions and legal authorities.

• Guiding Principles and Common Approach for Enhancing Public Access to the Results of Research Funded by HHS Operating Divisions