NSF's Public Access Plan and Restrictions on Sharing/Reuse for Data Generated with NSF Support

Owned by Julie Winchester
Nov 22, 2021
3 min read

The current NSF public access plan is at https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf15052 with the PDF located at https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2015/nsf15052/nsf15052.pdf. 

The Public Access Plan both explicitly and implicitly acknowledges that practices around data sharing - specifically, under what circumstances data may be shared or accessed and under what circumstances data may NOT be shared or accessed - vary significantly between disciplines, and that there are a variety of reasons why access to data might be restricted. Although the overall stated goal is that data generated from NSF funding should be as broadly available as possible, what constitutes broadly available and what constitutes possibility are highly variable. There is no indication in this document that absolute public access to data for all possible purposes (including commercial purposes) is mandated or required in any sense.

What follows are excerpted sections and quotes from the document relating to restrictions on data sharing and reuse.

Section 7.2.2, Page 12 - Submission: Data

NSF will retain its current DMP [Ed: Data Management Plan] requirements. Under these guidelines, awardees are required to set forth plans for archiving data, samples, and other research products, and for preservation of access to them, as appropriate (see Section 3.2.1). Investigators report on the progress of these activities in their annual and final reports.

NSF understands that practices surrounding data deposit vary substantially based on the discipline and type of data (simulation, modeling, observational, instrument-driven, laboratory, and so on): “What constitutes reasonable data management and access will be determined by the community of interest through the process of peer review and program management. In many cases, these standards already exist, but are likely to evolve as new technologies and resources become available” (Data Management and Sharing Frequently Asked Questions, updated November 30, 2010).

Over the next several years, NSF will consult with the research communities to develop discipline- specific guidance and best practices. Any changes in policy and related guidance would be announced no earlier than March 2016 for implementation in the PAPPG no earlier than January 2017.

Introduction, Page 1 - From the list of goals of the Public Access Plan

 “Broaden access to NSF-funded research findings with necessary and appropriate safeguards.”

Exhibit 1, Page 29 - Summary of findings from internal studies

In developing this plan, NSF has considered internal, administrative resources and infrastructure assets; broad patterns of publication by NSF-funded investigators and their sources of funding; and the creation and use of scientific data sets among disciplines, and observed the following:

[...]

  • Data resulting from NSF support are managed through a highly distributed set of external repositories reflective of communities and disciplines. 

Section 3.2, Pages 5-6 - Data Management Plan (italics added for emphasis, interested readers should also review sub-sections of section 3.2 not excerpted here)

3.2 Data Management Plan

To the extent feasible and consistent with applicable law and policy; agency mission; resource constraints; U.S. national, homeland, and economic security, digitally formatted scientific data resulting from unclassified research supported wholly or in part by NSF funding should be stored and publicly accessible to search, retrieve, and analyze. NSF requires applicants for funding to prepare a DMP. The current requirement, which was a January 18, 2011 implementation of the Foundation’s long-standing data-sharing policy, specifies that proposals must include a supplementary document of no more than two pages, labeled “Data Management Plan.” This supplement should describe how the proposal will conform to NSF policy on the dissemination and sharing of research results as stated in the Grant Proposal Guide. The DMP may address:

  • The types of data, samples, physical collections, software, curriculum materials, and other materials to be produced in the course of the project;
  • The standards to be used for data and metadata format and content (where existing standards are absent or deemed inadequate, this should be documented along with any proposed solutions or remedies);
  • Policies for access and sharing, including provisions for appropriate protection of privacy, confidentiality, security, intellectual property, or other rights or requirements;
  • Policies and provisions for re-use, re-distribution, and the production of derivatives; and
  • Plans for archiving data, samples, and other research products, and for preservation of access to them (Grant Proposal Guide II.c.2.j). 

Guidance and data management requirements and plans specific to the directorate, office, division, program, or other NSF unit are available at: http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/dmp.jsp. Individual solicitations may also include specific guidance or requirements. NSF’s FastLane system will not permit submission of a proposal that is missing a DMP.