[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 183 (Friday, September 22, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65360-65361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-20579]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
National Agricultural Library
Notice of Stakeholder Listening Sessions Regarding Increasing
Public Access to the Results of USDA-Funded Research
AGENCY: National Agricultural Library, Agricultural Research Service,
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
ACTION: Notice of stakeholder listening sessions.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (Department's) National
Agricultural Library (NAL) announces virtual listening sessions to
receive public comments, recommendations, and suggestions on the
Department's planned response to new White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy (OSTP) guidance on access to the results of
federally-funded research. The Department's plan and policies apply to
the results of research funded wholly or in part by any USDA component
agency. This effort to obtain input regarding implementation of federal
public access requirements will be carried out through online and
virtual submission mechanisms. Stakeholder input received from the two
mechanisms will be treated equally.
DATES:
Virtual Listening Sessions: Two listening sessions will be held to
obtain virtual input from stakeholders throughout the United States.
Stakeholders include members of the public, principal investigators,
research institutions, libraries, scholarly publishers, scientific
societies, agricultural organizations and associations, data
scientists, data repositories, and other stakeholder groups. The first
listening session will take place on September 27, 2023. The session
will begin at 2 p.m. EST and is scheduled to end no later than 5 p.m.
EST. The second listening session will take place on October 12, 2023.
The session will begin at 10 a.m. EST and is scheduled to end no later
than 1 p.m. EST. Each session will include brief remarks from USDA
research leadership, followed by comments from stakeholders. Each
registered speaker will receive five minutes to share their comments
with the Agency. If time allows after all comments from registered
speakers are made, unscheduled speakers will be allowed five minutes to
present their comments to the Agency. The length of the sessions will
be adjusted according to numbers of participants seeking to provide
input.
Registration: All parties interested in attending the virtual
listening sessions must RSVP no later than one week prior to the
scheduled session. Each virtual listening session will be webcast and
transcribed. Information about registering for the virtual sessions and
viewing the webcast can be found at https://www.nal.usda.gov/about-us/events/public-access. This website includes instructions on submitting
written comments and registering to attend or speak at the virtual
listening session. All parties interested in attending the virtual
listening session must RSVP no later than one week prior to the
scheduled session they will attend.
If you need a reasonable accommodation or language access services
to register for, or participate in, this event, please contact Cynthia
Parr, National Agricultural Library, at [email protected], or 301-
837-8917.
Written Comments: Submission of written stakeholder input will be
open upon publishing of this Notice through 5 p.m. EST on November 15,
2023 via the Federal eRulemaking portal as described below.
ADDRESSES:
Listening sessions: The virtual listening session Zoom links are
shared upon registration for September 27, 2023 and October 12, 2023.
All parties interested in attending the virtual listening session must
RSVP no later than one week prior to the scheduled session.
Written comments: Written comments must be submitted via the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at regulations.gov. Please go to
www.regulations.gov to submit your comments electronically.
[[Page 65361]]
Information on using regulations.gov, including instructions for
accessing agency documents, submitting comments, and viewing the
docket, is available at https://www.nal.usda.gov/about-us/events/public-access.
The Department will not accept comments submitted by fax, by email,
or comments submitted after the comment period closes. To ensure that
the Department does not receive duplicate copies, please submit your
comments only once.
Privacy Note: The Department's policy is to make all comments
received from members of the public available for public viewing on the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. Therefore,
commenters should be careful to include in their comments only
information that they wish to make publicly available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Parr, National Agricultural
Library, at [email protected], or 301-837-8917.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose: USDA seeks public input on its plans for enhancing policy,
infrastructure, and outreach to make results of the research it funds
more readily available and accessible by the public.
Background: USDA developed a public access plan in response to the
February 22, 2013 OSTP memorandum entitled ``Increasing Access to the
Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research'' and several White
House memoranda. Current USDA policy and activities were developed from
that original plan. On August 25, 2022, OSTP issued a new public access
memorandum: ``Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to
Federally Funded Research.'' In response to OSTP's 2022 memo, USDA will
enhance policy, infrastructure, and outreach to make its scientific
data and publications more readily available and accessible by the
public, as described generally in the new plan, which can be viewed at:
https://www.nal.usda.gov/services/public-access/. This listening
effort, organized by the National Agricultural Library on behalf of the
USDA Office of the Chief Scientist, allows stakeholders the opportunity
to provide feedback on USDA's plan and to inform details of its policy-
making and other implementation. The USDA Public Access plan and
policies apply to the results of research funded wholly or in part by
any USDA component agency. USDA provides the questions listed below to
prompt feedback and comments. USDA encourages public comment on any or
all of these questions, and also seeks any other information that
commenters believe is relevant. The questions to enhance public access
of USDA-funded research outcomes are:
How can USDA best implement its plans to improve public
access to USDA-funded research results?
How can USDA update or refine its policies to improve
public access to USDA-funded research results?
How can USDA ensure equity in publication opportunities?
How can USDA use partnerships to improve public access and
accessibility to results of USDA-funded research?
How can USDA monitor impacts on communities impacted by
its public access policies?
Done at Washington, DC.
Simon Liu,
Administrator, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2023-20579 Filed 9-21-23; 8:45 am]
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