In response to the mandate the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released on February 22, 2013 to make federally funded science research widely accessible, federal science agencies are required to develop Public Access policies. The following are the requirements adopted by the NSF to comply with this mandate:

• Peer-reviewed journal articles and juried conference proceedings, funded partially or in whole by NSF, must be made accessible after a maximum embargo period of one year. The version of record (as it appears in the journal) or the final, peer-reviewed manuscript are acceptable versions for deposit.
• They must be deposited in a designated repository that will preserve the content and make it widely available. NSF has designated the Department of Energy’s Public Access Gateway for Energy and Science (PAGES) repository to house NSF-funded publications.
• The publications must be accompanied by a metadata record, including a unique, persistent identifier that provides a link to the full text.
• It is expected that PIs will be able to begin voluntarily depositing publications, with the required metadata, by late 2015. It will become mandatory for publications resulting from new awards made as a result of proposals submitted with due dates on or after January 25, 2016.
• Non-classified data resulting from federally-funded research should be made available to the research community. The Data Management Plan (DMP) requirement for NSF-funded research will remain in effect. This plan should outline how data will be stored, preserved, and made available for re-use. Questions on NSF Annual and Final Reports regarding data access should be answered completely; failure to follow through on a proposed DMP or comply with program- or directorate-specific requirements may result in program officers rejecting final reports, with resulting delays to new NSF awards.
• Answers to frequently asked questions about the NSF policy are available here.
• A link to the full NSF policy can be found here

If you have questions regarding NSF’s public access policy, or Bates resources to assist in compliance with it, please contact Shonna Humphrey (shumphre@bates.edu) or Krystie Wilfong (kwilfong@bates.edu).