USDA Public Access and Open Science Plan

USDA - Draft Public Access Plan & Policy

Status

• June 2023 - Plan Outlining New Policy Published
• December 31, 2024 - Final Agency Policy Due
• December 31, 2025 - Effective Date

Guidance and Templates

• Current USDA Public Access Guidance
• Proposed USDA Public Access Plan.

Tips

• Use the  DMPTool to find the latest applicable USDA DMP template.
• Request a consultation for help with WVU storage, allowable costs, and results repositories.

Proposed Policy Change

Scope

• Any direct funding from a USDA grant or cooperative agreement when the new final USDA public access policy is approved.
• Any direct funding from a USDA contract signed after the final USDA public access policy is implemented.
• Any direct funding or arrangement, including in-kind support, from any USDA Intramural Research. USDA will review the scope as part of the larger public access policy activity consistent with the latest OSTP memorandum.

Draft Policy for Scholarly Publications

The public access policy will apply to any manuscript that is peer-reviewed and is accepted for publication in a journal on or after the USDA approval of a new final public access policy. The public access policy for scholarly publications will ensure:

• Final peer-reviewed, accepted manuscripts will be made freely accessible to the public in machine-readable form through the USDA public access system (PubAg, hosted by the NAL). USDA will provide public access through PubAg on the date on which the publisher makes the article available online. Final versions of record may be submitted if the author has secured rights to submit them (e.g., by securing open access licensing).
• Scholarly publications will have digital persistent identifiers (DPIs), such as a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), consistent with current policy and practice.
• Scholarly publications will reference the USDA funding source(s).
• All authors of scholarly publications will have individual DPIs, such as the Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID iD), that are linked to their scholarly publications.
• Digital scientific research data assets connected to a scholarly publication covered by USDA policy will also receive a DPI, such as a DOI. This will allow a scholarly publication and its catalog metadata to link to the published digital scientific research data asset from which the publication was developed.
• USDA will encourage authors of scholarly publications to obtain DPIs for other associated scientific research product such as software, workflow documentation, curricular materials, and multi-media materials, if these products provide information that would help future users of the scholarly publication and are not subject to access restrictions.
• USDA will make clear that costs associated with publication of scholarly articles may be charged as an allowable expense in all research budgets.
• USDA will clarify the role of publishers (through their various Open Access models), institutional repositories, and other external entities in ensuring free, immediate, and equitable access to USDA-funded research outputs.
• USDA will also discuss intellectual property rights concerns in stakeholder discussions, to inform USDA policy on government purpose licensing and use and reuse rights for publications.

Draft Policy for Data Management Planning and Digital Scientific Research Data

• The policy will apply to any digital scientific research data asset connected to a scholarly publication covered by the USDA public access policy. The public access policy will also extend to other digital scientific research data assets as currently outlined in DR 1020-006, Public Access to Scholarly Publications and Digital Scientific Research Data.
• Categories of digital scientific research data assets that are exempt from public access requirements by statute or regulation and describe processes to review and approve requests for waivers and extensions to public access requirements will be provided.
• Digital scientific research data assets covered by public access requirements will be published in a machine-readable format by a data repository that is recognized by reputable registries and provides:
  • Public access for search, retrieval, and analysis.
  • A digital persistent identifier, such as a DOI.
  • Long-term preservation of the data asset.
  
  
• An approved data management plan (DMP) will accompany all scientific research that produces digital scientific research data assets. The public access policy will prescribe the high-level DMP elements and explain when and how data will be publicly accessible. As noted above in the Policy for Scholarly Publications section, digital scientific research data assets covered by this policy must also receive digital persistent identifiers (DPIs).
• Digital scientific research data assets associated with scholarly publications covered by the public access policy will be publicly accessible immediately, simultaneous with the article publication.
• Data not associated with scholarly publications will continue to be required to be made available by the end of the period of performance of the award. USDA will encourage authors of digital scientific research data assets to obtain DPIs for other associated research products such as software, workflow documentation, curricular materials, and multi-media materials if these products provide information that would help future users of the data asset and are not subject to access restrictions.
• All authors of digital scientific research data assets (data authors) will have individual DPIs (e.g., ORCID iDs) that are linked to their data assets and other research products.
• The public access policy will require a standardized metadata catalog entry that is machine-readable, references the USDA funding source(s), and describes the digital scientific research data asset be submitted to the publicly available USDA scientific data catalog system (Ag Data Commons, hosted by the NAL) simultaneous with the publication of the associated scholarly publication.
• The metadata catalog entry must include the DPIs of the data authors, the published digital scientific research data asset, and any associated research products.
• Costs associated with publication, submission, curation, and management of digital scientific research data assets may be charged as an allowable expense in all research budgets.