[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 93 (Monday, May 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41480-41481]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10279]



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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No. SSA-2023-0039]


Request for Information: Social Security Administration's Plan 
for Increasing Public Access to the Results of Federally Funded 
Scientific Research

AGENCY: Social Security Administration.

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: The Social Security Administration (SSA) requests public 
comment about how to implement our Plan for Increasing Public Access to 
the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research (public access 
plan). Our public access plan provides general guidelines supporting 
public access to our scientific research publications and scientific 
research data. We are seeking public input to inform our development of 
specific policies and guidelines that will apply to all new research 
grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and other awards made on or 
after December 31, 2025. The policies and guidelines will also apply to 
all scientific research by our employees published on or after December 
31, 2025.

DATES: To ensure that your comments are considered, we must receive 
them no later than June 12, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any one of three methods--
internet, fax, or mail. Do not submit the same comments multiple times 
or by more than one method. Regardless of which method you choose, 
please state that your comments refer to Docket No. SSA-2023-0039 so 
that we may associate your comments with the correct docket.
    Caution: You should be careful to include in your comments only 
information that you wish to make publicly available. Do not include in 
your comments any personal information, such as Social Security numbers 
or medical information.
    1. Internet: We strongly recommend that you submit your comments 
via the internet. Please visit the Federal eRulemaking portal at 
www.regulations.gov. Use the ``Search'' function to find docket number 
SSA-2023-0039. The system will issue a tracking number to confirm your 
submission. You will not be able to view your comment immediately 
because we must post each comment manually. It may take up to a week 
for your comment to be viewable.
    2. Fax: Fax comments to 1 (833) 410-1631.
    3. Mail: Mail your comments to the Office of Legislation and 
Congressional Affairs, Regulations and Reports Clearance Staff, Social 
Security Administration, Mail Stop 3253 Altmeyer, 6401 Security 
Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21235-6401.
    Comments are available for public viewing on the Federal 
eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov or in person, during 
regular business hours, by arranging with the contact person identified 
below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ted Horan, Office of Research, 
Evaluation and Statistics, Social Security Administration (SSA), 6401 
Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21235-6401, (410) 966-2788.
    For information on eligibility or filing for benefits, call our 
national toll-free number, 1-800-325-0778, or visit our internet site, 
Social Security Online, at www.ssa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Under the Social Security Act, we administer Old-Age and Survivors 
Insurance (OASI), which provides retirement and survivors benefits to 
qualified workers and their family members. Under Disability Insurance 
(DI), we provide benefits for workers who become disabled and their 
families, and provide financial support to aged, blind, and disabled 
adults and children who have limited income and resources under 
Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Our research budget funds 
scientific research, such as data development and dissemination, 
modeling efforts, administrative research, and retirement and 
disability policy research to better serve the public. We fund a range 
of extramural projects to better serve the public, including: 
disability and retirement policy research, demonstration projects to 
test ways to promote greater labor force participation among people 
with disabilities, evaluations of proposed or newly enacted legislative 
changes, and projects to maintain and improve basic data about our 
programs and beneficiaries. In addition to funding extramural projects, 
we employ statisticians, economists, and other research staff who 
conduct intramural research projects that are published in scholarly 
outlets such as scientific and professional journals.
    In 2013, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy 
(OSTP) issued a memorandum \1\ requiring certain agencies to develop 
plans that support increased public access to federally funded research 
results; and in 2022, OSTP issued a second memorandum \2\ expanding the 
requirement to other agencies including SSA. In compliance with the 
memoranda, we published our public access plan available at https://www.science.gov/Public-Access-Plans-Guidance.html and at www.ssa.gov/open.
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    \1\ See 2013 Memo, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/ostp_public_access_memo_2013.pdf.
    \2\ See 2022 Memo, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/08-2022-OSTP-Public-Access-Memo.pdf.
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II. Request for Information

    Through this Request for Information, we are asking interested 
persons and groups, including stakeholders across public and private 
sectors who may be familiar with or interested in the research work of 
our agency, for comments about how to implement our public access plan 
as we develop specific policies, requirements, and guidance for 
research we fund.
    This Request for Information is for information and planning 
purposes only and should not be construed as a solicitation or as an 
obligation on our part. We will not respond to the comments we receive 
in response to this Request for Information, but we will use the 
comments to inform our development of specific public access policies 
and requirements for future research.
    Public access to scientific research is subject to compliance with 
applicable Federal laws, regulations, and directives, including those 
intended to prevent disclosure of personally identifiable information 
and other restricted data.
    Our public access plan summarizes our current extramural and 
intramural research; however, we are not requesting comments about our 
current research projects, ideas for future research, or unsolicited 
requests to conduct research or receive awards for research. For more 
information about opportunities to conduct research for the Social 
Security Administration, go to: www.ssa.gov/policy/about/research-funding.html or https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/funding.htm.

III. Discussion of Questions

    We welcome comments about how we should implement our Plan for 
Increasing Public Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific 
Research at www.regulations.gov, by searching for this docket (SSA-
2023-0039). Our public access plan explains how we will provide the 
public with free access to our scientific research publications and 
publicly releasable scientific research

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data. Our public access plan summarizes our research programs, what 
research will be publicly accessible, proposed requirements, and 
actions we are taking to implement the plan. We appreciate public 
comments on the following questions.
    1. Scope and Applicability--Our public access plan defines the 
scope of what research will be publicly accessible, including 
limitations to protect privacy of personally identifiable information. 
As we implement our public access plan, is there additional public 
access we should consider?
    2. Digital Repositories--We will require that federally funded 
scientific research results are publicly accessible for free, including 
final scientific research reports, peer-reviewed scholarly 
publications, and the underlying scientific research data used to 
produce reports and publications, to the extent permitted by applicable 
law. We will require that final research publications are permitted to 
be available in an SSA-designated repository that we will select in 
2024. Underlying scientific research data must be deposited in a 
repository and in a form that meets SSA's requirements. What types of 
digital repositories do researchers prefer for providing public access 
to research data? What should SSA consider as we develop requirements 
for which data repositories researchers may use?
    3. Costs--For the expenses that researchers incur for providing 
public access, we may allow reasonable costs as part of a contract, 
grant, cooperative agreement, or other research award. What information 
is available to help us estimate the costs associated with providing 
public access to scientific research publications and data? How can we 
minimize those costs to maximize the funds available for research 
awards?
    4. SSA Research Information and Training--Our public access plan 
provides information about our existing website where we describe our 
research programs. We will consider providing a new web page as a 
single point of access for information about our research programs, 
including how to find publicly accessible research publications and 
data. What information, guidance, or training about public access could 
we provide to help researchers and their institutions, beginning with 
applying for a research opportunity through the time of final 
publication?
    5. Equitable Research--How can we ensure equity in research 
opportunities and access as we implement public access requirements, 
and what challenges might certain institutions face with public access, 
including costs and publishing opportunities?
    The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Martin 
O'Malley, having reviewed and approved this document, is delegating the 
authority to electronically sign this document to Faye I. Lipsky, who 
is the primary Federal Register Liaison for SSA, for purposes of 
publication in the Federal Register.

Faye I. Lipsky,
Federal Register Liaison, Office of Legislation and Congressional 
Affairs, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2024-10279 Filed 5-10-24; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4191-02-P