Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S. Symposium on the Value of Shared Access and Reuse of Publicly Funded Scientific.
Download
Report
Transcript Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S. Symposium on the Value of Shared Access and Reuse of Publicly Funded Scientific.
Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S.
Symposium on the Value of Shared Access and Reuse of
Publicly Funded Scientific Data
1 December 2010
Paul F. Uhlir, J.D.
Board on Research Data and Information
National Research Council
Washington, DC
[email protected]
Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S.
In this presentation I will:
Identify some of the major trends and stakeholders in the data policy
process;
Review the main legislative and regulatory sources for government
and government funded data and information policies; and
Examine a few of the principal issues in government and governmentfunded scientific data.
Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S.
Developments promoting greater openness:
Liberalization of public information regimes after Cold War
Rise of the globally networked cyber-infrastructure
New paradigms of open science and digital commons
Forces favoring greater secrecy and proprietary restrictions:
Economic pressures on discretionary public expenditures leading to
both privatization and commercialization of data
IPRs increasingly broader, deeper, longer, stronger
National security based restrictions (increased post 9/11)
Norms and practices in flux as scientific community adjusts to
conflicting trends.
Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S.
Key stakeholders in the development of scientific data access
policies:
Top down policy development
Government(s)
Research funding agencies
International and intergovernmental (scientific) organizations
Bottom up policy development
Universities and not-for-profit research institutes
Industry research institutions
Informatics organizations/institutions (libraries, data centers,
archives)
Learned societies (umbrella research community organization)
Individual researchers
General public and NGOs
Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S.
OMB Circular A-130
Copyright Act
Freedom of Information Act
Sunshine in Government Act
Federal Advisory Committee Act
Paperwork Reduction Act
Government Paperwork Elimination Act
E-Government Act
Clinger-Cohen Act (Information Technology Management Reform Act)
Privacy Act
Individual Federal agency legislation/regulation/policies/contracts and
grants
And so on . . . .
Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S.
OMB Circular A-130 – Considerations/Assumptions
Government information is a valuable national resource. It provides the public
with knowledge of the government, society, and economy -- past, present, and
future. It is a means to ensure the accountability of government, to manage the
government's operations, to maintain the healthy performance of the economy, and is
itself a commodity in the marketplace.
The free flow of information between the government and the public is essential to
a democratic society. It is also essential that the government minimize the Federal
paperwork burden on the public, minimize the cost of its information activities, and
maximize the usefulness of government information.
Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S.
A-130 – Considerations/Assumptions (continued)
In order to minimize the cost and maximize the usefulness of government
information, the expected public and private benefits derived from government
information should exceed the public and private costs of the information,
recognizing that the benefits to be derived from government information may
not always be quantifiable.
The nation can benefit from government information disseminated both by
Federal agencies and by diverse nonfederal parties, including State and local
government agencies, educational and other not-for-profit institutions, and for-profit
organizations.
Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S.
A-130 – Considerations/Assumptions (continued)
Because the public disclosure of government information is essential to the operation
of a democracy, the management of Federal information resources should protect
the public's right of access to government information.
The open and efficient exchange of scientific and technical government
information, subject to applicable national security controls and the proprietary
rights of others, fosters excellence in scientific research and effective use of
Federal research and development funds.
Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S.
OMB Circular A-130 (continued)
How must agencies avoid improperly restrictive practices?
Agencies will:
Avoid establishing, or permitting others to establish on their behalf, exclusive, restricted,
or other distribution arrangements that interfere with the availability of information
dissemination products on a timely and equitable basis;
Avoid establishing restrictions or regulations, including the charging of fees or
royalties, on the reuse, resale, or redissemination of Federal information dissemination
products by the public; and,
Set user charges for information dissemination products at a level sufficient to recover
the cost of dissemination but no higher. They must exclude from calculation of the charges
costs associated with original collection and processing of the information.
Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S.
§ 105. Subject matter of copyright: United States
Government works
Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the
United States Government, but the United States Government is not
precluded from receiving and holding copyrights transferred to it by
assignment, bequest, or otherwise.
Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S.
§ 102. Subject matter of copyright: In general
(b) In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship
extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation,
concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is
described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.
Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S.
Countervailing polices and practices that may limit the free and
unrestricted access to and use of government data and information:
Statutory exemptions to public-domain access and use based on
specific national security concerns, the need to protect personal
privacy, and to respect confidential information (plus other exemptions
in Freedom of Information Act).
Government agencies generally protect the proprietary rights in
information originating from the private sector that are made available
for government use, unless expressly exempted.
Government agencies may not be allowed to compete directly with the
private sector in providing information products and services, outside
their legislative mandate.
Government-generated information is not necessarily provided free,
even if there are no restrictions on reuse. Any charges, however, may pose
an insurmountable barrier to access by the most disadvantaged potential
users.
Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S.
Recent scientific data policy developments in the federal government
White House Inter-Agency Working Group on Digital Data
(See: Harnessing the Power of Digital Data for Science and Society [2009])
National coordination
International coordination
Education and workforce
Data research
Data systems development and deployment
Data assurance
Data quality
Integration and interoperability
Data.gov Portal
Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S.
Advantages of open availability and unrestricted reuse of publicly funded scientific
data:
Promotes interdisciplinary, inter-institutional, and international research;
Enables automated knowledge discovery;
Avoids duplication of research and promotes new research and new types of
research;
Reinforces open scientific inquiry and encourages diversity of analysis and opinion;
Allows for the verification of previous results;
Makes possible the testing of new or alternative hypotheses and methods of analysis;
Supports studies on data collection methods and measurement;
Facilitates the education of new researchers;
Enables the exploration of topics not envisioned by the initial investigators;
Permits the creation of new data sets when data from multiple sources are combined;
Promotes capacity building in developing countries; and
Generally helps to maximize the research potential of new digital resources and
technologies, and provides greater returns from public investments in research.
Many other socioeconomic and good governance advantages and justifications
outside research.
Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S.
Individual Federal agency legislation/regulation/policies/contracts and grants:
The rules for and by each department or agency differ according to its mission
and history, with the overlay of default rules identified above.
The way that access to and reuse of scientific data is handled within each federal
research agency usually varies within the organization’s subunits.
The policies for government funded researchers also vary widely, depending on
institution, subunit, type of research, and funding instrument (e.g., grant, contact,
CRADA)
Implementation of the data policies required or suggested by the federal funder in
the university or other non-governmental research organization is also affected by
that university’s or organization’s rules and policies for such data.
The norms and practices developed over decades by each discipline influence
the way data are handled by the individual researcher and change over time as well.
Bottom line: “it depends”
Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S.
Continuing Challenges…
Promoting openness as a default rule
Intellectual property rights for databases
Public-private partnerships
Hyper-secrecy and classification of data
Socio-cultural norms and attitudes
Long-term sustainability of data collections
Automated knowledge discovery
Integrated open knowledge environments
Data for decision making and development
Economic and social value/return on investment
Policy for Publicly Funded Scientific Data in the U.S.
Some works written or edited by the speaker on this topic (all available freely
online):
Bits of Power: Issues in Global Access to Scientific Data (NAS, 1997).
The Role of S&T Data and Information in the Public Domain (NAS, 2003).
Reichman, J.H. and Paul F. Uhlir, “A Contractually Reconstructed Research
Commons for Scientific Data in a Highly Protectionist Intellectual Property
Environment, 66 Law & Contemporary Problems 315-462 (2003).
UNESCO Policy Guidelines for the Development and Promotion of
Governmental Public Domain Information (2004).
Open Access and the Public Domain in Digital Data and Information for Science
(NAS, 2004).
Strategies for Open Access to and Preservation of Scientific Data in China
(NAS, 2006).
Uhlir & Schröder, “Open Data for Global Science”, Data Science Journal,
CODATA (2007).
Uhlir, et al, “Toward Implementation of the GEOSS Data Sharing Principles”,
Journal of Space Law (2009).
Reichman, Dedeurwaerdere, and Uhlir, “Designing the Microbial Research
Commons: Global Intellectual Property Strategies for Accessing and Using
Essential Public Knowledge Assets”, Yale University Press (forthcoming 2011).