Federal Government Public Access Policies

In August 2022, Dr. Alondra Nelson of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a memo, Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research, which recommends that all federal agencies develop plans indicating how they will provide public access to the results of federally funded research. This memo follows and expands on the 2013 memo Expanding Public Access to the Results of Federally Funded Research (aka the Holdren Memo).

The Nelson memo applies to ALL federal agencies (regardless of research budget), it includes both peer reviewed publications and their underlying data, and the ultimate goal is to provide free, immediate access to research.

Researchers should expect agency plans to eliminate any post-publication embargo period before the results of federally funded research can be publicly shared. The 2013 Holdren Memo specified a 12 month embargo period after publication, but the 2022 Nelson Memo specifically mentioned eliminating that embargo period to provide for more equitable access to research.

Additionally, according to the Nelson memo, agency plans should describe:

• How peer-reviewed scholarly publications should be made publicly accessible
• How to maximize equitable reach of public access to peer-reviewed scholarly publications, including by providing free online access to peer-reviewed scholarly publications in formats that allow for machine-readability and enabling broad accessibility through assistive devices
• The circumstances or prerequisites needed to make the publications freely and publicly available by default, including any use and re-use rights, and which restrictions, including attribution, may apply