Are you complying with the NIH Public Access Policy?

Despite the fact that the NIH Public Access Policy has been in existence since 2008, many federally-funded researchers still seem to know very little about the policy.  The policy was created to ensure that the public has access to the results of federally-funded research.  In other words, the people who pay the taxes that support your research should be able to see the results of these expenditures.  Historically, results were primarily available only by paying fees to journals for subscriptions or access.  The policy led to the creation of PubMed Central, which is a separate database from PubMed.  According to the Public Access Policy, scientists must submit the final manuscripts of all publications arising from NIH-funded research to PubMed Central immediately upon acceptance for publication.  This will result in the publication eventually being assigned a PMCID, which is the number that is required in the Publications section of your NIH biosketch.  Confused?  Visit the NIH Public Access Homepage, which provides step-by-step instructions and helpful information.

More Sample NIH Funded Grant Proposals

Given the demand for sample NIH R01, R03, R21 and other proposals, here are links to more sample grant proposals:

• Sample proposals of various types and topics
• 2 R01 applications, an F31 application, and some NSF examples from Toledo

Interestingly, more and more of the previously publicly-available sample NIH grant proposals from universities around the country are becoming available only to faculty and staff.  Ultimately, funded proposals are all public materials.  You can request a copy of a funded proposal from any researcher and they should provide it to you.  Some may be more secretive about sharing this information, and others may outright try to keep it from you, but ultimately due to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) should should be able to receive a copy.  The NIH FOIA Office has more details on these requests here.  Our taxpayer dollars are paying for these research projects, and more information should be available to the people who work hard every day for the tax dollars to be taken out of their paychecks to fund research grants. 

The NIH Public Access Policy started off on the right track as it was created to make research findings more accessible to everyone.  However, the publishing industry managed to put systems in place that have still weakened this policy's effect.  I hope that more researchers will decide to be forthcoming with their research proposals and share them for the benefit of younger researchers who are new to grant proposal writing and would like to see successful samples. 

It's time to stop ignoring the NIH Public Access Policy

For over 4 years, NIH has had a rule on the books called the Public Access Policy.  This policy was created in order to widen availability of research data and make it more easily accessible to the public (thus the "Public Access Policy", get it?).  Unfortunately, many people still fail to understand the requirements of the policy or make any effort to submit manuscripts to PubMed Central or properly cite PMCIDs in their biosketches and Resources sections. 

According to a recently-released NIH notice, it is time to start paying attention.  According to the recent notice, NIH will hold processing of  non-competing continuation awards if publications arising from grant awards are not in compliance with the Public Access Policy. This means that ignoring the policy will result in your next year of funding being held until you are in compliance with the policy. 

Come on, people.  We have had over 4 years to get this right.  Failing to comply with the policy can only be due to laziness or apathy.  You have been warned.  If your funding ends up suspended for failure to comply, don't say I didn't warn you!

How do I comply with the NIH Public Access Policy?

Over 3 years past its inception, the Public Access Policy still confuses and mystifies even the most seasoned researchers. The policy was designed to enhance access for the general public to research findings that are developed through taxpayer funding (i.e. NIH grants). Every publication that results from research that was funded in whole or in part by NIH should have a manuscript deposited in PubMed Central. This website has some great information including FAQs and links regarding the policy.