Open Science Petition Response

The White House has finally responded to the open science petition that I wrote about back in May.  In their words, "The Obama Administration agrees that citizens deserve easy access to the results of research their tax dollars have paid for."

So, we're on the same page here.  What are they doing to make sure that taxpayer-funded research is indeed made public?  The short answer is, they have definitely taken the soft approach:  the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has issued an order that applies to every Federal agency with over $100 million in annual conduct of research and development must submit a plan to to the OSTP within six months outlining their plans for achieving the following major goals, among others:

• Facilitation of easy public search, analysis of, and access to peer-reviewed scholarly publications directly arising from research funded by the Federal Government.
• Maximize access, by the general public and without charge, to digitally formatted scientific data created with Federal funds.
• Optimize search, archival, and dissemination features that encourage innovation in accessibility and interoperability, while ensuring long-term stewardship of the results of federally funded research.

The plan submitted to the OSTP must also include a timeline for implementation, and then each agency is expected to report on their progress twice yearly.  This is encouraging, but is not a lasting piece of legislation and lacks any clear repercussions for failing to comply.  As such, this commitment may last only as long as this administration does.  Also frustrating is that there is a provision for at least a 12-month embargo period during which research needs not be publicly available.   

It remains to be seen whether this leads, in practice, to all Federal funding agencies adopting an open-access plan like the NIH has, or whether the agencies' plans fall short of the goal of easy access to the results of taxpayer-funded research.  I appreciate that you took the time to sign the petition, and I hope that you will continue to push for free and open science in the future!