[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 129 (Tuesday, July 7, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38668-38669]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-16508]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology

[Docket Number: 150414364-5364-01]


National Institute of Standards and Technology Plan for Providing 
Public Access to the Results of Federally Funded Research

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 
seeks comments on the NIST Plan for Providing Public Access to the 
Results of Federally Funded Research (NIST Public Access Plan). NIST is 
taking steps to make its scientific data and publications more readily 
available and accessible by the public, as directed in several recent 
White House memoranda. The NIST Public Access Plan applies to the 
results of research funded wholly or in part by NIST, presented in 
peer-reviewed scholarly publications and as research data. This 
document outlines NIST's plan for implementing new responsibilities and 
procedures to manage the public access of scientific data and 
publications. The NIST Public Access Plan was reviewed by the Office of 
Science and Technology Policy and the Office of Management and Budget; 
they approved it on December 4, 2014. Comments received on the NIST 
Public Access Plan will inform NIST as it revises its directives that 
implement the Plan.

DATES: Comments must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 
21, 2015 to be considered.

[[Page 38669]]


ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted by any of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: 301-975-8620, Attn: Katherine Sharpless.
     Mail: Katherine Sharpless, NIST, 100 Bureau Drive Stop 
4701, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-4701.
    Please be aware that all comments will be publicly posted online at 
http://www.nist.gov/data. Comments containing references, studies, 
research, and other empirical data that are not widely published should 
include copies of the referenced materials. All comments will be made 
public; therefore personal, proprietary, or confidential information 
should not be included.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine Sharpless by phone at 301-
975-3121 or by email at [email protected].
    Please direct media inquiries to Jennifer Huergo, NIST Office of 
Public Affairs, by phone at 301-975-6343 or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Institute of Standards and 
Technology (NIST) is one of our Nation's oldest Federal laboratories 
(for more information, visit www.nist.gov). As a bureau in the 
Department of Commerce, the NIST mission is to promote U.S. innovation 
and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, 
standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and 
improve our quality of life. From early electrical measurement research 
to today's quantum information science, NIST has long been, and 
continues to be, a center for high-impact research meeting the needs of 
academia, industry, and government. The NIST laboratories conduct 
world-class research, often in close collaboration with industry, which 
advances the nation's technology infrastructure and helps U.S. 
companies continually improve products and services.
    NIST publishes this notice to seek comments on the NIST Plan for 
Providing Public Access to the Results of Federally Funded Research 
(NIST Public Access Plan), posted at www.nist.gov/data. The NIST Public 
Access Plan documents NIST's plan to implement new responsibilities and 
procedures to manage the public access of scientific data and 
publications. Comments received on the NIST Public Access Plan will 
inform NIST as it revises its directives that implement the Plan.
    NIST is taking steps to make its scientific data and publications 
more readily available and accessible by the public, as directed in 
several recent White House memoranda, Office of Management and Budget 
Memoranda M-10-06, Open Government Directive, and M-13-13, Open Data 
Policy--Managing Information as an Asset; and the February 22, 2013, 
Office of Science and Technology Policy Memorandum, Increasing Access 
to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research.
    The NIST Public Access Plan applies to the results of research 
funded wholly or in part by NIST, presented in peer-reviewed scholarly 
publications and as research data. Research data means the recorded 
factual material commonly accepted in the scientific community as 
necessary to validate research findings, but not any of the following: 
preliminary analyses,\1\ drafts of scientific papers, plans for future 
research, peer reviews, or communications with colleagues. This 
``recorded'' material excludes physical objects (e.g., laboratory 
samples). Research data does not include: Trade secrets, commercial 
information, materials necessary to be held confidential by a 
researcher until they are published, or similar information which is 
protected under law; and personnel and medical information and similar 
information the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly 
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, such as information that 
could be used to identify a particular person in a research study.\2\
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    \1\ For purposes of NIST's Public Access Plan, NIST considers 
the contents of laboratory notebooks to be preliminary analyses.
    \2\ For purposes of this notice, NIST is adopting the definition 
of ``research data'' provided in 2 CFR 200.315(e)(3). http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2014-title2-vol1/pdf/CFR-2014-title2-vol1-sec200-315.pdf.
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    Putting new plans in place to manage public access to NIST data and 
publications stands to significantly benefit the public and NIST by 
ensuring that the integrity of NIST data and publications is maintained 
throughout their life cycles, and by increasing the visibility of NIST 
measurements, standards, technology, and research activities. 
Stakeholder consultation is a critical step in the development of 
NIST's plan for managing public access to research results.
    In May 2013, NIST co-sponsored two public comment meetings at the 
National Academy of Sciences on providing public access to federally 
supported R&D data and publications.\3\ The stakeholder input gathered 
at these public meetings and information from ongoing dialogue with 
other Federal agencies were considered in the development of the NIST 
Public Access Plan. NIST invites respondents to comment on the 
following questions that pertain to the implementation of its public 
access policy:
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    \3\ Public Comment Meeting Concerning Public Access to Federally 
Supported R&D Publications Workshop, held May 14-15, 2013, and 
Public Comment Meeting Concerning Public Access to Federally 
Supported R&D Data Workshop, held May 16-17, 2013, at the National 
Academy of Sciences.
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     What are the best practices (from academia, industry, and 
other stakeholder communities) in managing public access of data?
     What are the biggest challenges to implementing a public 
access policy, and how can these challenges be addressed?
     What criteria could the NIST laboratories use in 
prioritizing the public release of datasets?
     How can NIST improve its plan to provide greater public 
access to NIST data?
    All comments must be received in accordance with the DATES section 
of the notice above.

Richard Cavanagh,
Acting Associate Director for Laboratory Programs.
[FR Doc. 2015-16508 Filed 7-6-15; 8:45 am]
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