Your Opinion Please! ISCB Poll on NIH Public Access Policy

In 2008 the U.S. Congress required the National Institutes of Health to implement a Public Access Policy that requires investigators funded by the NIH to submit, or have submitted for them, an electronic version of their final, peer-reviewed manuscripts upon acceptance for publication to PubMed Central for posting publicly within 12 months after the official date of publication.

Similarly, in England the Wellcome Trust implemented a like-minded policy for investigators funded with its resources, and in Germany the Max Planck Society committed to paying for all open access publications from any of its institutes.
Bill HR 801 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year to prohibit any U.S. federal agency from mandating a public access policy as a conditionof funding.Supporters of open access have taken a strong position against HR 801, while organizations that stand to benefit from limiting or eliminating the current NIH policy are standing in favor of it.ISCB’s senior leadership supports the current NIH Public Access Policy. However, before making any public statements on this issue in the name of ISCB, your input is important in guiding ISCB's next steps on this topic with international implications.

Please participate in the brief poll to help determine if ISCB shall make a public statement on this issue: www.iscb.org/cms_addon/survey/09/NIHPublicAccess.php

We thank you!