Publicly funded US research will have to be published without delay under new policy
Research funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) will have to be made publicly available without a period of delay,1 under the agency’s new public access policy. The policy, which is open to consultation until 21 February 2025, has been designed to accelerate access to publicly funded research results as part of the institute’s commitment to transparency and accessibility. The biggest change from the NIH’s existing policy, produced in 2008, is that the 12 month embargo period before manuscripts resulting from NIH funding must be made publicly available will be removed as of 31 December 2025. This meets an expectation set out by the US government in 20222 for publications and supporting data from federally funded research to be made publicly accessible without an embargo. The NIH’s move comes as other research funders across the world make efforts to increase transparency. Earlier this year the European Union removed a deferral mechanism …
