NIH Panel Reaffirms Public-Access Policy

An NIH advisory panel charged with implementing a public-access policy has reaffirmed its November 2005 recommendation that all NIH-funded research be made publicly available via PubMed Central no later than six months after publication.

The panel, Public Access Working Group (PAWG), reissued its call for a mandatory, six-month public-access policy at a meeting on April 10. NIH's current policy in this area was issued last May and calls for voluntary posting of agency-funded work on PubMed Central within a year of publication. The goals of the public-access policy are to enable NIH to better manage its research portfolio and to provide the public with electronic access to NIH-funded research publications.

A recent survey has called into question the effectiveness of NIH's voluntary program, finding that only 24% of the NIH-funded authors surveyed reported that they had submitted a full manuscript to PubMed Central (C&EN, March 13, page 13).

This low rate of participation supports the need for a mandatory policy, public-access advocates say.

Several groups, such as the Alliance for Taxpayer Access (ATA), the American Cancer Society, and the New England Journal of Medicine, have expressed their support for a mandatory policy with a six-month posting deadline.

"We are very pleased that PAWG has reaffirmed its original recommendations for a mandatory policy and a maximum six-month embargo period," said ATA's Heather Joseph. She added that to achieve the agency's stated goals related to public access, a mandatory policy is needed.

Ultimately, the decision on public access falls to NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, who is in the process of considering revisions to the current policy, which are expected to be announced this year.