SPARC Response to the OSTP Request for Information (RFI) titled Accelerating the American Scientific Enterprise

"We write to specifically address Question xii of the RFI: "What policy mechanisms would ensure that the benefits of federally-funded research—including access to resulting technologies, economic opportunities, and improved quality of life—reach all Americans?" Research outputs that federal scientists and grantees produce are among the most valuable benefits of federal investments in research and development. These include scholarly manuscripts that report research results, data that provide evidence supporting those results, and code and software that process and analyze those data. To ensure these benefits truly reach all Americans, the federal government must guarantee that the results of taxpayer-funded research are made immediately and freely accessible and fully reusable to the public. We strongly support the foundation laid by the 2022 OSTP Public Access Memorandum titled: Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research. SPARC supports the Administration’s efforts to continue implementing this policy, including the recent NIH effort aimed at accelerating its implementation. "