Open Access: Federal Public Access Mandates

On August 25, 2022, OSTP updated its policy, released Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research, instructing agencies to

1. Update their public access policies as soon as possible, and no later than December 31st, 2025, to make publications and their supporting data resulting from federally funded research publicly accessible without an embargo on their free and public release;
2. Establish transparent procedures that ensure scientific and research integrity is maintained in public access policies; and,
3. Coordinate with OSTP to ensure equitable delivery of federally funded research results and data.

This guidance applies to all federal agencies. SPARC outlines the new policy guidance in a fact sheet. OSTP has an FAQ addressing common questions.

Importantly, adherence to and implementation of the policy guidance in the 2022 Memorandum do not require expense on the part of the researcher. The revised policy guidance may impact publishing costs, but it is not necessary; the requirement for sharing scholarly articles can be achieved by using agency-designated repositories with the final peer-reviewed manuscript.