Funder requirements
Funding agencies are external organizations that contract with universities to sponsor research. Many funding agencies require sharing articles and/or data that results from research they fund.
Public access
Many funding agencies require sharing articles and/or data resulting from research they fund.
U of M researchers are responsible for knowing their relevant agency’s requirements and complying with them.
Authors should read publishing agreements and take action to ensure compliance.
The Libraries provide negotiation supports such as the BTAA Author’s Rights Addendum and tips on using the U's Open Access Policy.
Federal funders
The largest U.S. federal grant-funding agencies have established requirements for sharing publications and data resulting from research conducted using federal grant funding. An August 2022 memorandum from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy directed all federal bodies to update existing or draft new policies for immediate sharing of publications and data.
There are no changes in public access requirements yet. This space will be updated as new policies are put in place. Please contact the Libraries for assistance.
| Agency | Directorate | Effective Date | Sharing requirement | Sharing Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOD | n/a | 2015 | Yes | Defense Technical Information Center PubDefense |
| DOE | n/a | 2014 | Yes | OSTI Pages (video demonstration) |
| DoED | IES | 2012 | Yes | ERIC |
| DOT | n/a | 2015 | Yes | National Transportation Library |
| EPA | n/a | 2016 | Yes | PubMed Central |
| HHS | AHRQ | 2015 | Yes | PubMed Central |
| HHS | ASPR | 2015 | Yes | PubMed Central |
| HHS | ACL | 2016 | Yes | PubMed Central |
| HHS | CDC | 2013 | Yes | CDC Stacks and PubMed Central |
| HHS | FDA | 2015 | Yes | |
| HHS | NIH | 2008 | Yes | PubMed Central |
| ODNI | n/a | 2017 | Yes | Defense Technical Information Center PubDefense |
| NASA | n/a | 2015 | Yes | PubSpace |
| NIST | n/a | 2015 | Yes | PubMed Central |
| NOAA | n/a | 2016 | Yes | PubMed Central |
| NSF | n/a | 2016 | Yes | NSF Public Access Repository |
| Smithsonian | n/a | 2015 | Yes | Smithsonian Research Online |
| USDA | n/a | 2016 | Yes | PubAg |
| USAID | n/a | 2016 | Yes | Development Experience Clearinghouse |
| USGS | n/a | 2016 | Yes | Publications Warehouse |
| VA | n/a | 2015 | Yes | PubMed Central |
* SciENV accepts ORCID.
Other funding agencies
The public access requirements of selected foundations and other funders are summarized below.
Please contact the Libraries for assistance.
| Agency | Effective date | Embargo allowed | Sharing venue or other requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Heart Association | n.d. | 12 months | PubMed Central |
| Autism Speaks | 2008 | 12 months | PubMed Central |
| Children's Tumor Foundation | 2015 | n/a | Drug Discovery Initiative Registered Reports |
| Ford Foundation | 2015 | n/a | Creative Commons License required |
| Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | 2015 | No | Various openly accessible repository acceptable |
| Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation | 2017 | n/a | Creative Commons License required |
| Hewlett Foundation | n.d. | n/a | Creative Commons License required |
| Howard Hughes Medical Institute | 2007 | n/a | PubMed Central |
| Laura and John Arnold Foundation | 2017 | n/a | Preregistration with the Center for Open Science |
| MacArthur Foundation | 2008 | n/a | Creative Commons License required |
| The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research | 2020 | n/a | Articles must be posted in an open access preprint repository and published open access |
| Simmons Foundation | 2017 | n/a | Encourages preprints at arXivor, bioRxiv, or publishing under open access licenses |
| Wellcome Trust | 2017 | No embargo allowed | Creative Commons License required PubMed Central or Europe PMC |
Data
The 2013 Public Access to Federally Funded Research memo from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) directed most grant-funding agencies to develop policy requirements public access to resulting articles and data. For more detailed information, including timelines for sharing, select an agency.
The Libraries can help you write and implement your data management plan to best meet funder requirements. You can also use our Data Repository for the University of Minnesota (DRUM) to meet federal funder requirements for data sharing.
Federal funders' responses to the OSTP memo:
| Agency | Directorate guidance | Effective date | DMP required | Sharing venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense (DOD) | n/a | End of 2016 | Yes | “Established, publicly accessible institutional repositories” |
| Department of Energy (DoE) | DOE Guide | Oct 1, 2015 | Yes | "including the data as supplementary information to the published article, or through other means." |
| Department of Education (DoED) | IES | FY2016 | Yes | “existing data repository” or other approach* |
| Department of Transportation (DOT) | n/a | Dec. 31, 2015 | Yes | An appropriate data repository, and inventoried in the DoT Public Data Listing |
| Health and Human Services (HHS) | Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) | Oct. 2015 | Yes | TBD |
| Health and Human Services (HHS) | Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) | Oct. 2015 | Yes | Publicly accessible databases |
| Health and Human Services (HHS) | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | Oct. 2015 | Yes | Encourages the use of public repositories |
| Health and Human Services (HHS) | Food and Drug Administration(FDA) | Oct. 2015 | Yes | Publicly accessible, discipline specific repositories |
| Health and Human Services (HHS) | National Institutes of Health (NIH) | Revised plan implemented January 25, 2023 | Yes | Existing, publicly accessible repositories |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | NASA Guide | Jan. 1, 2015 | Yes | Existing data repositories |
| NIST | n/a | Oct. 2015 | Yes | Publicly accessible databases |
| NOAA | n/a | 2015 | Yes | Existing NOAA data centers, other data repositories, interagency Research Data Commons |
| National Science Foundation (NSF) | NSF Guide | 2011 | Yes | “an appropriate repository” |
| Smithsonian | n/a | October 2015 | Partial** | Smithsonian Research Online, or approved external data repository |
| United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) | n/a | January 2016 | Yes | USDA registry of datasets, other repository options |
| United States Geological Society (USGS) | USGS Guide | January 2016 | Yes | USGS Data Portal |
| Veterans Affairs (VA) | n/a | December 31, 2015 | Yes | Partner with HHS, NIH, FDA, and DoD on “effective mechanisms" |
* Data must be available for at least 10 years
** Data management plan is required for digital projects
Department of Defense
DOD's Response to the 2013 OSTP Public Access Memo
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."
Department of Transportation
DOT's Response to the 2013 OSTP Public Access Memo
"In the DMP, researchers will propose their strategy(ies) to deposit Digital Data Sets resulting from DOT-funded Scientific Research in a repository that enables and allows for Public Access and sharing.... All Digital Data Sets subject to this plan will be inventoried in the DOT Public Data Listing, whether performed by intramural or extramural researchers."
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CDC's Response to the 2013 OSTP Public Access Memo
"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."
Department of Education
DOE's Response to the 2013 OSTP Public Access Memo
Institute of Education Sciences (IES) data sharing policy
"The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) expressed its commitment to advancing education research through the sharing of scientific data collected through its grant-funded research programs. The purpose of this data sharing implementation guide is to describe how this policy will be implemented and to provide guidance to grant applicants".
National Institutes of Health
NIH's Response to the 2013 OSTP Public Access Memo
NIH Data Sharing Policy (updated for 2023)
For grants over $500,000, a data sharing plan must be included in the grant 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 Institute of Standards and Technology
NIST Response to the 2013 OSTP Public Access Memo
NIST Guidelines, Information Quality Standards, and Administration Mechanism
Per NIST, grantees are not subject to the data sharing guidelines listed in the "NIST Guidelines..." document unless NIST directly distributes the data.
United States Department of Agriculture
USDA's Response to the 2013 OSTP Public Access Memo
USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
The NIFA requires a DMP will all research. They state: "Increased access to scientific research results (e.g., scholarly publications, digital data sets) from NIFA funded projects is critical to achieving NIFA’s vision to catalyze transformative discoveries, education, and engagement to address agricultural challenges. Therefore, an appropriate data management plan (DMP) should be a core component of research planning for proposals submitted to NIFA."
US Department of Veterans Affairs
VA Policy and Implementation Plan (July 2015) in response to the 2013 OSTP Public Access Memo