NIH Public Access Policy
"...ensures that the public has access to the published results of NIH funded research..."

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New Publication Requirements for NIH-Funded Investigators

The National Institutes of Health has issued a revised Public Access Policy to ensure compliance with Public Law 110-161, mandating that any published results of NIH-funded research be made available to the public. Specifically, investigators reporting on NIH-funded research are now required to submit an electronic copy of their published articles to NIH PubMed Central, a digital archive offering free and unrestricted access to biomedical and life sciences literature. The Policy applies to all peer-reviewed journal articles, including research reports and reviews, reporting on research funded in whole or in part by the NIH. The Policy does not apply to non-peer-reviewed materials such as correspondence, book chapters, and editorials. Compliance with this policy is a statutory requirement and a condition of grant awards, cooperative agreements, and R&D contract solicitations and awards. Failure to comply could result in serious penalties, including the loss of NIH funding and eligibility for future funding.
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Key Dates and Details

As of April 7, 2008:
All articles arising from NIH funds must be submitted to PubMed Central upon acceptance for publication.

·         The Principal Investigator will be responsible for meeting this requirement. 

·         Submitting a manuscript to PubMed Central is designed to take less than 10 minutes. 

·         The PI remains free to publish to the journal of his/her choosing.

·         Some journals submit articles automatically to PubMed Central on the author's behalf, so that no further action would be required on the PI’s part in order to comply with the NIH Public Access Policy. See the listing of such journals at http://publicaccess.nih.gov/submit_process_journals.htm.

·         When publishing to a journal not on the list, the PI must (1) inform the journal that the article is subject to the Public Access Policy requirements when submitting the manuscript for publication; and (2) ensure any copyright transfer or other publication agreement allows the article to be submitted to PubMed Central; and (3) Submit the article to NIH, upon acceptance for publication.

 ** To facilitate the publication process and ensure any publication agreement or copyright arrangement allows the PubMed Central contribution, we offer two resources: A standard letter that may be included with any manuscript submission; and a standard paragraph that may be inserted into any agreement.

 ** For additional information, please refer to the instructions in answer to Please refer to the instructions in answer to Whose approval do I need to submit my article to PubMed Central? and see the NIH Submission Methods Website.  

As of May 25, 2008:
Investigators must include the PubMed Central reference Number when citing their NIH-funded articles in NIH applications, proposals, or progress reports.

• This requirement applies when citing an article that falls under the policy and is authored or co-authored by the investigator or arose from the investigator’s NIH award.
• The policy includes applications submitted to the NIH for the May 25, 2008 due date and subsequent due dates.

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Does this new NIH Public Access Policy Apply to You?

The Policy applies to you if your peer-reviewed article is based on work in one or more of the following categories: 

1. Directly funded by an NIH grant or cooperative agreement active in Fiscal Year 2008
(October 1, 2007- September 30, 2008) or beyond;

2. Directly funded by a contract signed on or after April 7, 2008;

3. Directly funded by the NIH Intramural Program; and/or

4. NIH pays your salary.  

Are You Responsible for Articles that Arise from your NIH-Funded Project, but for which You Are **NOT** an Author?

YES.  Principal Investigators and their Institutions are responsible for ensuring all terms and conditions of awards are met. This includes the submission of articles that arise directly from their awards, even if they are not an author or co-author of the publication. Principal Investigators and their Institutions should ensure that the authors are aware of and comply with the NIH Public Access Policy. See http://publicaccess.nih.gov/FAQ.htm#b7.

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Training and Services

The UI's Hardin Library staff provides compliance guidelines and resources; training for departments and labs; and a manuscript submission service for completing the PubMed submission. For more information, visit the Library’s NIH Public Access Policy website at http://guides.lib.uiowa.edu/content.php?pid=6167&sid=38601.

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Additional Resources

NIH Public Access Policy Overview
http://publicaccess.nih.gov/

Association of Research Libraries: Implementing Public Access Policies
http://www.arl.org/sc/implement/nih/guide/nih-resources.shtml

Flowchart (from Washington University, St. Louis) for complying with the new NIH Public Access Policy
http://becker.wustl.edu/pdf/NIHComplianceFlowchart.pdf

Frequently Asked Questions
http://publicaccess.nih.gov/FAQ.htm

NIH Guide Notice
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-08-033.html

NIH Public Access Policy Instructions specific to more than 3,500 journals in the health and life sciences
http://mulford.meduohio.edu/instr/

PubMed Central
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/

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Questions?

Ask a Librarian at the University of Iowa Hardin Library:
http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/liaisons.html

Consult your DSP contact Oliva Smith:
oliva-smith@uiowa.edu. 

For assistance with copyright, please contact:
UI Deputy General Counsel Grainne Martin:
grainne-martin@uiowa.edu, 319-335-2742