NASA releases revised public access plan, solicits comments

The second agency-wide public access plan for implementing the August 2022 OSTP memo on public access was released on 18 May by NASA, following the release in February of NIH’s plan. NASA has asked for public comment on their plan by 17 August.

Questions in the NASA RFI are similar to the NIH RFI, with the addition of a prompt on software. STM will submit a response and encourages members to do so as well.

Note that NASA had earlier released a new policy for the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) requiring immediate access to publications and broader access to data and software, but this only applied to SMD, not to other Directorates in NASA. Additionally, revisions to that policy (SPD-41a) were already underway before the August 2022 memo was issued.

Each agency is pursuing its own approach to revising its public access policy and may or may not issue requests for public comment. STM continues to engage directly with agencies where we can and will keep members posted on opportunities to participate in public comment or private dialogue.