National Science Foundation announces plan for comprehensive public access to research results

NSF's public access is intended to accelerate the dissemination of fundamental research results. Credit and Larger Version

March 18, 2015

Today, the National Science Foundation (NSF), announced its continued commitment to expand public access to the results of its funded research through the publication of its public access plan, Today's Data, Tomorrow's Discoveries. NSF's public access is intended to accelerate the dissemination of fundamental research results that will advance the frontiers of knowledge and help ensure the nation's future prosperity.

"Scientific progress depends on the responsible communication of research findings," said NSF Director France A. Córdova. "NSF's public access plan is another effort we have undertaken to emphasize the agency's central mission to promote the progress of science."

NSF will require that articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals and papers in juried conference proceedings or transactions be deposited in a public access compliant repository and be available for download, reading and analysis within one year of publication.

Today's announcement follows a request from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy last year, directing science-funding agencies to develop plans to increase access to the results of federally funded research. NSF submitted its proposal to improve the management of digital data and received approval to implement the plan.

"NSF's public access plan reflects input from the scientific community, recognizes the diversity among the scientific fields that the agency supports, and seeks to minimize burden on both awardees and staff," said Dan Arvizu, Chairman of NSF's National Science Board.

NSF will continue to consult with the scientific community, academic institutions, publishers and other federal agencies to implement this plan.

Details of the plan are available on the NSF website.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Maria C. Zacharias, NSF, (703) 292-8454, [log in to unmask]

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2015, its budget is $7.3 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 48,000 competitive proposals for funding, and makes about 11,000 new funding awards. NSF also awards about $626 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

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