NSF Plans to Add Two Pages to Its Grant Apps

ScienceInsider reports that Edward Seidel, acting director of the mathematics and physical sciences division of the National Science Foundation, has announced the funding agency's "intention to require all applicants to submit a data management plan along with their grant application," as "part of a broader move by NSF and other federal agencies to emphasize the importance of community access to data." According to ScienceInsider, the "NSF's current policy requires grantees to share their data within a reasonable length of time so long as the cost is modest." ScienceInsider reports that the new policy is expected to be unveiled this fall — under it, researchers would be required to submit their data-management plans as a two-page supplement to the standard proposal, such that it will become an additional "element of the merit review process." Seidel also said that the new NSF policy "doesn't address open access with regards to publishing," specifically.