The Obama Administration’s directive requiring federal agencies with more than $100 million in research and development expenditures make available results of federally funded research to the public within one year of publication is a salutary move for the scientific community.
It provides for expanded public access to the results of research funded by taxpayers and also ensures that the valuable contributions that the scientific community provides aren’t lost.
This policy can help promote economic growth, catalyze scientific breakthroughs and increase innovation.
As a top public university in research funding, this policy bears a lot of positive consequences for the University community. It ensures that the valuable research that members of our community put forth becomes public and can then be used by others to further scientific advancement.
Broad public access lubricates the wheels of job creation and encourages public-private collaboration. It enables companies to focus their efforts and resources on understanding and taking advantage of new discoveries.
However, expanded public access to taxpayer-funded research should also be accompanied by increased funding to public schools, particularly in the sciences, so that more young Americans can have the skills to understand and use research findings.
While expanded public access of federally-funded research is a wise move, federal agencies that follow this policy should promote the usefulness and openness of findings.
