Take Action: Oppose H.R. 3699, a new bill to block public access to publicly funded research

A new bill, The Research Works Act (H.R.3699), designed to roll back the NIH Public Access Policy and block the development of similar policies at other federal agencies has been introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives. Co-sponsored by Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), it was introduced on December 16, 2011, and referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Campus Open Access Policies

If you’re considering a campus open-access policy, or already have one in development, SPARC is here to help. SPARC has coordinated with open-access policy leaders and experts to develop this new set of resources to support data-driven, community-engaging, and successful open-access policy development at institutions everywhere. Please explore and let us know how we can support you.

The Federal Research Public Access Act

> SPARC resources on this topic
> More information from the Alliance for Taxpayer Access

Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) - Access to Outputs of Research, Policy in Development

> SPARC resources on this topic

International Activities

> Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, Letter from 15 advocates calling for an open-access policy

National Institutes of Health – Public Access Policy

> SPARC resources on this topic
> More information from the Alliance for Taxpayer Access

The Case for Open Access: How is Open Access Important to the UK Economy and Society? 

> Additional videos from the UK Open Access Implementation Group

UK & Europe

> SPARC resources on this topic

Other Documents:

> Mandatory public access to federally funded research does not violate copyright obligations [PDF] (July 2007)

> SPARC comments on access to peer-reviewed papers and associated data in Australia (Productivity Commission’s November 2006 draft report on “Public Support for Science and Innovation”)[PDF] (December 22, 2006)

> Effective Advocacy: Elizabeth Turtle and Martin Courtois on "Scholarly Communication: Science Librarians as Advocates for Change," in Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship (Summer 2007).

Alliance for Taxpayer Access

Founded and administered by SPARC, the ATA is a diverse and growing alliance of organizations representing taxpayers, patients, physicians, researchers, and institutions that support open public access to taxpayer-funded research. The Alliance was formed in 2004 to urge that peer-reviewed articles on taxpayer-funded research become fully accessible and available online at no extra cost to the American public.

Open Access Working Group

Much of SPARC's advocacy work is conducted in coordination with the Open Access Working Group (OAWG). Initiated by SPARC in 2003, the OAWG is a group of like-minded organizations that collaborate to build a framework for collective advocacy of open access to research. The group seeks to build broad-based recognition that the economic and societal benefits of scientific and scholarly research investments are maximized through open access to the results of that research. OAWG aims to bring about changes within stakeholder institutions enabling viable open access models to be widely and successfully implemented and accepted.