Does this apply to my current research?
No. The Nelson memo does NOT impact requirements for grants already awarded. Federal agencies will be submitting their new or updated public access policies this year and those policies will be finalized before the end of 2024. The deadline for all public access policies to take effect is December 31, 2025. See the timeline for more information.
It is possible that public access policies apply to current grants if those policies were in effect at the time the grant was awarded (ex: NIH public access policy). If you are unsure of what guidelines apply to your grant, please contact your granting agency.
Which agencies does this memo apply to?
All federal granting agencies regardless of their research budget.
What types of research are included?
All peer reviewed publications (this includes 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), and scientific data (see page 4 of the Nelson memo).
What does scientific data include?
Scientific data includes "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, draft 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."
This memo also directs federal agencies to allow for the protection of certain types of data that may be restricted for legal or ethical reasons (like personally identifiable data).
