The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has responded to the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) request for input on its recent Draft Public Access Policy. AAAS commends the NIH for its continued engagement with stakeholders and its commitment to ensuring equitable access to published research. In its response, AAAS highlighted a session it co-hosted with the NIH in 2023, where early-career researchers, society publishers, and academic administrators provided input on the equity and integrity aspects of federal public access draft plans.
The latest version of the draft policy, released in June 2024, reflects many comments submitted by AAAS during the first round of input for the initial draft plan last year. Notably, the draft policy emphasizes the need to balance authors’ ability to publish with readers’ ability to access research, a critical factor in avoiding financial burdens for researchers. It also proposes a flexible approach to licensing. While a paper’s underlying data should be accessible for replication, the draft states that a specific license—which may restrict where an author can publish—is not required to facilitate public access.
In its response, AAAS urges revisions to further strengthen the draft policy, particularly concerning language that suggests the business model used to provide access to original peer-reviewed research is inconsequential. Some open access business models create new hurdles for authors and perpetuate existing inequities. While no current business model is flawless, AAAS’s 2022 survey of over 400 U.S.-based researchers found that gold open access can disproportionately impact scientists based on institution, discipline, career stage, geography, or gender.
“The NIH, the biomedical research ecosystem, and—most importantly—patients have a significant stake in ensuring that the business model used to implement access does not undermine the NIH’s mission and goals,” stated AAAS in its response. The organization recommends that the NIH policy transparently address the financial and professional challenges associated with gold open access for authors.
Recognizing the NIH's focus on minimizing compliance burdens on authors, AAAS also recommends that the effective date of the policy relate to new grants rather than the acceptance or submission date of a publication.
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