Tag: science

All Federal Research Agencies to Update Public Access Policies

On 25 August 2022, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a guidance memorandum instructing federal agencies with research and development expenditures to update their public access policies. Notably, OSTP is retracting prior guidance that gave discretion to agencies to allow a 12-month embargo on the free and public release of peer-reviewed publications, so that federal funded research results will be timely and equitably available at no cost. The memo also directs affected agencies to develop policies that:

  1. Ensure public access to scientific data, even if not associated with peer-reviewed publications;
  2. Ensure scientific and research integrity in the agency’s public access by requiring publication of the metadata, including the unique digital persistent identifier; and
  3. Coordinate with OSTP to ensure equitable delivery of federally funded research results and data.

KEY COMPONENTS OF GUIDANCE:

Updating Public Access Policies

Federal agencies will need to develop new, or update existing, public access plans, and submit them to OSTP and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Deadlines for submission are within 180 days for federal agencies with more than US$100 million in annual research and development expenditures, and within 360 days for those with less than US$100 million in expenditures.

Agencies will need to ensure that any peer-reviewed scholarly publication is free and available by default in agency-designated repositories without any embargo or delay following publication. Similarly, OSTP expects the access polices to address publication of any other federally funded scientific data, even if not associated with peer-reviewed scholarly publications. As a concession, federal agencies are being asked to allow researchers to include the “reasonable publication costs and costs associated with submission, curation, management of data, and special handling instructions as allowable expenses in all research budgets.1”

Ensuring Scientific Integrity

To strengthen trust in governmentally funded research, the new or updated policies must transparently communicate information designed to promote OSTP’s research integrity goals. Accordingly, agencies are instructed to collect and make appropriate metadata available in their public access repositories, including (i) all author and co-author names, affiliations, and source of funding, referencing their digital persistent identifiers, as appropriate; (ii) date of publication; and (iii) a unique digital persistent identifier for research output. Agencies should submit to OSTP and OMB (by 31 December 2024) a second update to their policies specifying the approaches taken to implement this transparency, and publish such policy updates by 31 December 2026, with an effective date no later than one year after publication of the updated plan.

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH), OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES, AND THEIR GRANTEES

The NIH is expected to update its Public Access Policy, potentially along with its Data Management and Sharing Policy to conform with the new OSTP guidance. Universities, academic medical centers, research institutes, and federally funded investigators should monitor agency publications of draft and revised policies in order to update their processes to ensure continued compliance.

In doing so, affected stakeholders may want to consider and comment to relevant federal agencies on the following issues in their respective public access policy development:

  • Federal agency security practices to prevent foreign misappropriation of research data;
  • Implications for research misconduct investigations and research integrity;
  • Any intellectual property considerations without a 12-month embargo, especially to the extent this captures scientific data not yet published in a peer-review journal; and
  • Costs allowable research budgets to support these data management and submission expectations.

1 Office of Science and Technology Policy, Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies: Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research at p. 5 (25 August 2022) available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/08-2022-OSTP-Public-Access-Memo.pdf

Article By Cindy L. Ortega Ramos and Rebecca M. Schaefer of K&L Gates

For more administrative and regulatory legal news, click here to visit the National Law Review.

Copyright 2022 K & L Gates

An Overview of STEM OPT Employer Site Visits

Employers who have employed F-1 students in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) category of the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program can expect site visits by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). The March 2016 STEM OPT rule allows the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct site visits of employers that train STEM OPT students.

Conducting Site Visits

The site visits are aimed to ensure that STEM OPT students are in compliance with the OPT program rules. Employers must engage the students in a structured, work-based learning experience consistent with the practical training and other information provided in Form I-983 – Training Plan for STEM OPT students. Employers will receive prior notification of such visit and the DHS will then assess if the program mentoring is working for both the student and employer.

The DHS is looking to verify if the employer has enough supervisory personnel to effectively maintain the program. The DHS might first request information through phone or email and conduct a site visit right after giving notice or do so later.  The DHS may ask employers to provide evidence that they use to assess the wages of similarly situated U.S. workers. The DHS will maintain all the information that is obtained during a site visit.

Consequences of Site Visits

The DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be overseeing employer location site visits. The DHS may refer matters to the U.S. Department of Labor or any other appropriate federal agency if the site visit warrants such referral.

If the DHS determines that an employee or student needs to update or clarify any information, the DHS will send a request in writing to the employer on how they should provide that necessary information.

Preparation for Students and School Officials

Students and Designated School Officials (DSO) must be prepared in anticipation of these upcoming site visits. Students must update their information in the SEVP portal or report updates to their school officials to make sure that their employer information and home addresses are up-to-date. Students must also be careful to update the address and name of the employer’s location where they are working. DSOs should also be prepared to provide the student’s up-to-date Form I-983 if requested.

Preparation for Employers

Now will be a good time for the employers to ensure that Form I-983 is updated and to ensure that the student’s training complies with the training plan. Also, to designate a company representative and train them on how to handle any such site visits by ICE. Employers must also maintain audit files containing all relevant STEM OPT form copies and supporting documents.

©2020 Norris McLaughlin P.A., All Rights Reserved

For more on DHS STEM OPT visits, see the National Law Review Immigration law sections.

New Grants to Help More Students Pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Careers

140px-US-DeptOfLabor-Seal.svg__0

Tonight, I’m announcing a new challenge to redesign America’s high schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy. And we’ll reward schools that develop new partnerships with colleges and employers, and create classes that focus on science, technology, engineering and math – the skills today’s employers are looking for to fill the jobs that are there right now and will be there in the future. President Obama, 2013 State of the Union

In November 2013, President Obama announced a new $100 million competition launched by the U.S. Department of Labor to help American high schools prepare students for college and for careers in a 21st-century economy.

Computer Science Education Week is a perfect time to highlight this new administration effort — called Youth CareerConnect — to inspire and prepare girls and boys in communities across the country to be the designers, programmers, engineers, and innovators of the future through increasing their access to hands-on, real-world-relevant education and skills.

Through Youth CareerConnect, up to 40 grants will be awarded to partnerships between local schools systems, employers, community colleges or universities, and others that are committed to strengthening America’s talent pipeline and providing students with industry-relevant education to prepare them for college and careers.

Schools and their partners will be challenged to focus on addressing key shortages in “H-1B fields” — occupations tied to the H1-B temporary-visa program, which are predominantly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

This is an exciting investment that will prepare more American students to be the innovators, researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs of the future. This initiative also, in part, answers a call by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology in its 2010 report on STEM K-12 Education, Prepare and Inspire, to increase the number of STEM-focused schools across the country.

Applicants will be judged on their efforts to serve a diverse student population, which will ensure access to preparation and training in the STEM fields for girls and minority groups currently underrepresented in many of these careers.

Importantly, the competition builds on the strong focus of OSTP and the White House Council on Women and Girls on increasing girls’ access to STEM fields and represents an important investment to both level the playing field for women and minority students and to provide them with the inspiration, access to career models, hands-on experiences, and rigorous curricula to prepare them to become the engineers, computer scientists and other STEM leaders of the future.

Success in this competition and meeting the broader challenge of giving all students access to real-world-relevant education experiences will require an all-hands-on-deck effort. That’s why Youth CareerConnect calls on businesses and institutions of higher education to join with school districts in putting together proposals to improve college and career readiness for more high school students.

Applications are due Jan. 27, 2014, so learn more at:  http://www.doleta.gov/ycc/

By Danielle Carnival and Kumar Garg.

Editor’s note: The following has been cross-posted from the WhiteHouse.gov blog. 

Danielle Carnival is a senior policy advisor and Kumar Garg is the assistant director for learning and innovation at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. 

 

Article by:

U.S. Department of Labor