Research Data at Auburn University: Federal Policy

In 1999 the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-110 was amended to require Federal awarding agencies to ensure that all data produced under an award will be made available to the public through the procedures established under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Included here are the guidelines of major funding agencies. 

National Science Foundation

NSF data management plan guidance
Beginning January 18, 2011, a Data Management Plan (DMP) will be required for all new NSF proposals. Proposals that do not include the requisite DMP will be stopped from submission. Specific guidance are included in the revised NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide. The change upholds the existing guidelines advocating open data, "[NSF] expects PIs to share with other researchers, at no more than incremental cost and within a reasonable time, the data, samples, physical collections and other supporting materials created or gathered in the course of the work."

National Institutes of Health

NIH Data Sharing Policy
For most grants over $500,000, a data sharing plan must be included in application and incorporated as a term and condition of the award. Final Research Data "should be made as widely and freely available as possible while safeguarding the privacy of participants, and protecting confidential and proprietary data".

National Endowment for the Humanities

Data Management Plans for NEH Office of Digital Humanities Proposals and Awards
Applicants should prepare a data management plan for their project. The plan should describe how the project team will manage and disseminate data generated or collected by the project. For example, projects in this category may generate data such as software code, algorithms, digital tools, reports, articles, research notes, or websites. NEH realizes that many institutions apply to both NEH and NSF, so it has made its data management plan requirement identical to NSF’s.

Department of Defense

DOD Principles and Operational Parameters of the DoD Scientific and Technical Information Program
"It is DoD policy under DoD Directive 3200.12 to establish and maintain a coordinated and comprehensive program to document the results and outcome of DoD-sponsored and/or performed research and engineering (R&E) and studies efforts and provide access to those efforts in an effective manner consistent with the DoD mission."

NASA

NASA Earth Science Data & Information Policy
"NASA promotes the full and open sharing of all data with the research and applications communities, private industry, academia, and the general public. The greater the availability of the data, the more quickly and effectively the user communities can utilize the information to address basic Earth science questions and provide the basis for developing innovative practical applications to benefit the general public."

Department of Energy

DOE Information Management Policies
The DOE's office of the Chief Information Officer maintains a list of circulars, policies, and federal regulations related to data and information management. Also, the DOE Standard Research Terms and Conditions limits dissemination of scientific/technical reports if "the report contains patentable material or protected data. In addition, these reports must not contain any limited rights data (proprietary data), classified information, information subject to export control classification, or other information not subject to release."

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CDC Policy on Releasing and Sharing Data
"The purpose of CDC’s data release/sharing policy is to ensure that (1) CDC routinely provides data to its partners for appropriate public health purposes and (2) all data are released and/or shared as soon as feasible without compromising privacy concerns, federal and state confidentiality concerns, proprietary interests, national security interests, or law enforcement activities."

Environmental Protection Agency

EPA Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of Information Disseminated
Non-specific to sharing, rather, ensures "a basic standard of quality, including objectivity, utility, and integrity".

National Institute of Standards and Technology

NIST Guidelines, Information Quality Standards, and Administration Mechanism
"Data release: Dissemination of data either for public use or through an ad hoc request that results in the data steward no longer controlling the data. "

United States Department of Agriculture

USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Service (CSREES)
CSREES requires all funded research data to be submitted into the public domain without restriction citing that "Pre-publication release of genome sequence data has been of tremendous benefit to the scientific research community and CSREES strives to ensure that such rapid release of sequence data continues.... There should be no restrictions on the use of the genomic sequence data, but the best interests of the community are served when all act responsibly to promote the highest standards of respect for the scientific contributions of others. Investigators are also encouraged to collaborate and make information available via the relevant worldwide web sites."
They do make some exceptions to allow for patent applications, but require that the terms of any usage agreements should be stated clearly in the application or revisions prior to funding."

See a full list of government funding agencies and search their current opportunities at Grants.gov.

See also: Developing List of Agency Data Policies and Data Management Documents and Related Reports

Thanks to the University of Minnesota University Libraries for sharing their content.

See also: NSF Data Management Plans

Some NSF directorates have issued their own guidelines for the preparation of the data management plan. These guidelines are not intended to replace the guidance given in the PAPPG; if there is a conflict, the PAPPG takes precedence.

The table below summarizes directorate- and division-specific guidelines (where they exist) with links to full documentation. This table will be updated with guidelines from the remaining directorates as they are issued; also check the NSF's page on Dissemination and Sharing of Research Results.

Thanks to the University of Michigan Libraries for sharing their content.

The information on this page is used with the permission of Georgia Tech's Librarian for Research Data Management.