[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 194 (Wednesday, October 7, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60751-60752]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-25448]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Policy and Implementation Plan for Public Access to Scientific 
Publications and Digital Data from Research Funded by the Department of 
Veterans Affairs

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This Federal Register Notice announces an opportunity for 
public review and comment on the Policy and Implementation Plan for 
Public Access to Scientific Publications and Digital Data from Research 
Funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

DATES: Comments must be received by VA on or before November 6, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted through http://www.Regulations.gov; by mail or hand delivery to the Director, 
Regulations Management (02REG), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 
Vermont Avenue NW., Room 1068, Washington, DC 20420; or by fax to (202) 
273-9026. Comments should indicate that they are submitted in response 
to ``Policy and Implementation Plan for Public Access to Scientific 
Publications and Digital Data from Research Funded by the Department of 
Veterans Affairs.'' Copies of comments received will be available for 
public inspection in the Office of Regulation Policy and Management, 
Room 1063B, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday 
through Friday (except holidays). Please call (202) 461-4902 (this is 
not a toll-free number) for an appointment. In addition, during the 
comment period, comments may be viewed online through the Federal 
Docket Management System at http://www.Regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Puglisi, Ph.D., Executive 
Director, Office of Research Oversight (10R), 810 Vermont Avenue NW., 
Washington DC 20420, Telephone: 202-632-7676 (this is not a toll-free 
number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VA's policy and implementation plan for 
increased public access to the results of its research was developed in 
response to White House initiatives on federally funded scientific 
research. In its February 22, 2013, memorandum, the White House Office 
of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) directed each federal agency 
with over $100 million in annual expenditures for the conduct of 
research and development to develop a plan to support increased public 
access to the results of research funded by the federal government, 
including digital data sets and results published in peer-reviewed 
scholarly publications arising directly from federally-funded research 
(OSTP, Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific 
Research, February 22, 2013).
    In implementing policies on public access to research publications 
and digital research data, VA must first remain cognizant of its 
ethical and legal obligations to safeguard the privacy of Veterans (and 
VA's other research subjects) and the confidentiality of their private 
information, while promoting the highest quality science. VA also 
recognizes that Veterans and the public at large have a substantive 
interest in accessing the results of the research that VA conducts. 
VA's responsibility precludes unlimited public access to private 
information about individual research subjects. With this in mind, VA 
has carefully weighed the public benefits versus the risks of harm to 
Veterans and other research subjects in establishing the requirements.
    VA is committed to ensuring that the final study results, including 
peer-reviewed publications and digital data from VA-funded scientific 
research, are made available to the scientific community, industry, and 
the general public with the fewest constraints possible, while 
protecting the privacy of the Veterans (and others individuals) about 
whom research data are obtained and safeguarding the confidentiality of 
their data.
    Requirements for public access to scientific publications will 
apply to all peer-reviewed publications reporting results of research 
that are either funded by the VA Office of Research and Development 
(ORD) or conducted, supported, or sponsored by any Veterans Health 
Administration (VHA) Program Office.
    Requirements for public access to digital data will apply to the 
final research data underlying all peer-reviewed publications reporting 
results of research that is either funded by the VA ORD or conducted, 
supported, or sponsored by any VHA Program Office. VA proposes to begin 
sharing digital research data through controlled public access 
mechanisms and move toward open public access to the extent that the 
protection of Veterans' identifiable private information can be 
ensured.

[[Page 60752]]

    Availability: Persons with access to the Internet may obtain the 
document at: http://www.va.gov/ORO/Docs/Guidance/Plan_for_Access_to_Results_of_VA_Funded_Rsch_02_14_2014.pdf.
    Alternatively, the document may be obtained by mail or by calling 
ORO at (202) 632-7676 (this is not a toll-free number).

Signing Authority

    The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or designee, approved this 
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document 
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as 
an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Robert L. 
Nabors II, Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs, approved 
this document on September 30, 2015, for publication.

    Dated: October 1, 2015.
Michael Shores,
Chief Impact Analyst, Office of Regulation Policy & Management, Office 
of the General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2015-25448 Filed 10-6-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8320-01-P