© EXDEZ/ISTOCKPHOTO.COMIn February 2013, the US Office of Science and Technology Policy issued a memorandum to federal departments and agencies directing those that contribute more than $100 million annually to research to develop a plan for increasing public access to study findings. Data generated by federally funded research should be made “publicly accessible to search, retrieve, and analyze,” the letter read. The Fair Access to Science and Technology Research (FASTR) Act, introduced to Congress the same month, aims to codify the mandate. The European Commission has similarly recommended, and announced that it would soon require, that its member states pass policies to ensure the digital accessibility of research data supported by public funds.
While these initiatives are being met with some resistance—the Frontiers in Innovation, Research, Science and Technology (FIRST) Act, for example, which would limit public access to federally funded research results, is also currently making its way through the US Congress—there is a clear push for widespread sharing of research findings. This attitude has driven the creation of more than 600 data repositories that enable sharing among the science community and often the public, with more than 200 of those focusing on data from the life sciences. Many universities and research institutions are launching their own repositories, while clinical data from health-care centers, Big Pharma, and even patients themselves are also being made accessible.
“It’s becoming clearer and clearer how important it is to share,” says ...
