The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Information Policy, the Census and National Archives has announced that it will hold a hearing on the issue of public access to federally funded research on July 29, 2010. The hearing will provide an opportunity for the Committee to hear the perspectives of a broad range of stakeholders on the potential impact of opening up access to the results of the US' more than $60 billion annual investment in scientific research.
The Subcommittee's interest stems from the growing number of visible expressions of interest in the issue of public access that have surfaced in recent months, in both the Legislative and Executive branches of government. Notably, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, earlier this year, hosted a Public Access Policy Forum on mechanisms that would leverage federal investments in scientific research and increase access to information.
Additionally, H.R. 5037, the Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA), which was introduced into the House on April 15, by Rep. Mike Doyle (R-PA) and is supported by a growing bi-partisan host of cosponsors, was referred to the Committee. The bill, and its identical Senate counterpart (introduced by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and John Cornyn (R-TX)), proposes to require those eleven federal agencies with extramural research budgets of $100 million or more to implement policies that deliver timely, free, online public access to the published results of the research they fund.
The hearing will examine the state of public access to federally-funded research in science, technology, and medicine. It will assess and delineate the complex issues surrounding public access policies. The hearing will also provide an opportunity for representatives from the areas of publishing, science and research, education and patient care to provide perspective on challenges, potential impact and opportunities regarding increased access.
The growing interest in exploring effective public access policies in the US reflects a larger worldwide trend. Around the globe, national and non-profit funding agencies are recognising the opportunity to increase the return on their research grants by requiring that findings be made freely accessible on the Internet.
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