Public Access of Publications

Purpose

To require NIH-funded investigators and extramural staff to submit final peer-reviewed manuscripts to a public archive of research publications, PubMed Central (PMC), and to cite papers from NIH-funded research properly in applications, proposals, and progress reports.

Procedure

NIH's public access policy has two requirements: 1) submission of final peer-reviewed manuscripts to the public PMC database of the National Library of Medicine and 2) citation of PMC IDs in NIH applications, proposals, and progress reports.

Public access covers publications reporting research with direct costs funded in whole or part by NIH, including grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, fellowships, and intramural research. It does not apply to book chapters, editorials, reviews, or conference proceedings.

The policy is a legal requirement and a term and condition of an NIH award. NIH staff monitor compliance with it; NIH may terminate funding or take other actions against investigators who do not comply.

Submission requirement. Investigators must submit to PMC an electronic version of any final peer-reviewed manuscript resulting from NIH-funded research that is accepted for publication on or after April 7, 2008.

A final manuscript includes modifications from publication peer review but not necessarily copyediting changes from the publisher. This submission fulfills the requirement to submit a copy of a publication with a grant progress report.

Authors can choose when NIH will make manuscripts public (not more than 12 months after publication). Copyright stays with the publisher, authors, or awardees.

Citation requirement. Investigators must include PMC ID numbers in all applications, proposals, and progress reports when citing a paper that results from NIH funding. Read more below.

Investigators

Submission requirement. Submit your final peer-reviewed manuscript accepted for publication on or after April 7, 2008, to PMC (unless the journal does it for you). This requirement applies even if the full text is on a public Web site.

• When you submit a paper to a journal, inform the journal that the final peer-reviewed manuscript is subject to the NIH public access policy.
• You can fulfill the public access requirement in the following ways:
• The journal submits the final published article on your behalf. Check Journals That Submit All NIH-Funded Final Published Articles to PubMed Central.
• If it does not submit on your behalf, make sure any copyright transfer or other publication agreements allow you to submit your paper. Then choose one of these options:
  • Arrange to have the publisher put the article in NIH Manuscript Submission (NIHMS).
  • Submit the manuscript yourself.
  • Complete a submission the publisher began through NIHMS.
• Submit manuscripts to PMC through NIHMS by taking these steps:
• Log in to NIHMS using an eRA Commons or an NIH login.
• Select the journal name, enter the manuscript title, and select the funding mechanisms that supported the manuscript.
• Provide basic information about the manuscript and contact information.
• Upload the manuscript file. The system generates a receipt and assigns the NIHMSID.
• NIHMS emails you and the corresponding author to approve the PDF and select the public release date for the manuscript, from publication date to 12 months later.
• You or author reviews the manuscript as it will look in PMC and may request corrections.
• Once you or the author gives final approval, NIHMS loads the article into PMC on the public release date.
• For more information on uploading your manuscript, see NIHMS System Slide Show Help.
• Go to NIHMS System Slide Show Help for tutorials.
• NIH can reimburse grantees for publication costs, including author fees, under certain conditions. Talk to a grants management specialist for details.

Citation requirement. When preparing an application, proposal, or progress report, cite papers that resulted from NIH funding as follows:

• Include the PMC ID number at the end of the citation. Note: PubMed (PM ID) and PMC (PMC ID) numbers are different. If you have the PubMed ID, you can use the National Library of Medicine's PM ID: PMC ID Converter to find out the PMC ID or vice versa.
• When a PMC ID is not yet ready, do the following:
  • Include the NIH Manuscript Submission reference number (NIHMS ID) instead.
  • State "PMC journal -- in process" for final published articles in journals listed in Journals That Submit Articles to PubMed Central.
• For an example, see Other Project Information Form: Bibliography and References Cited in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.

Program Staff

Program staff have two roles: oversight of funded investigators and submission of their own manuscripts (for the latter, see the next section).

Program staff monitor awards for compliance with NIH's public access policy and, starting in fiscal year 2009, have a role in enforcing it.

Follow these steps for new and renewal applications, progress reports, administrative supplements, grants that have been transferred from another institute, and contracts.

• For manuscript submissions, make sure the investigator has submitted any article based on NIH-funded research and accepted for publication on or after April 7, 2008, to PMC.
• If an investigator does not comply, send a public access notification email to the PI,institutional business official, and grants management specialist through the program officer checklist.
  • For progress reports, an investigator who does not comply needs to submit the manuscript immediately.
  • Inform the PI to include the PMC ID on future reports (but not to send a corrected progress report).
• For citations, check the award types listed above.
  • Verify a PMC ID or NIHMS ID unless the full text is on a public Web site.
  • In Query View Report (QVR), use Standard Reports to query, then select Bibliography Listing. Or use NLM's Scientific Publication Information Retrieval and Evaluation System (SPIRES).
  • If the number is missing or you cannot verify a citation in a progress report, email the PI (eventually IMPAC will generate this), and approve the progress report. You can paste text from the Grantee Letter into the email.

Manuscript Submission for NIH Extramural Employees

All NIH extramural employees must comply with the public access policy.

For manuscripts accepted for publication on or after April 7, 2008, submit an electronic copy of your final peer-reviewed manuscript to PMC through NIH Manuscript Submission.

• Make sure you have an NIH login.
• Indicate when your manuscript should be made public, from publication date to 12 months later.
• Review and acknowledge the terms and conditions of the PMC submission agreement.

Follow the instructions in the Clearance of Extramural Publications and Presentations SOP for the other parts of the publication clearance process.

Publishers

• Through NIH Manuscript Submission, submit to PMC a copyedited version of an author's final manuscript to replace the non-copyedited version.
• A link from an archived manuscript to your Web site will automatically be included if you routinely give this information to PMC.

Grants Management Staff

• If a PI is not compliant after the program officer's email reminder, contact the NIH Public Access Group at PublicAccess@NIH.gov to discuss possible enforcement actions.
• Put documentation in the grant folder, including any communications with the program officer.

Scientific Review Officers

• Use an administrative note to document any compliance issues brought up by a reviewer.

Contacts

Grantees with questions should Contact Staff for Help.

If you have knowledge to share or want more information on this topic, email deaweb@niaid.nih.gov with the title of this page or its URL and your question or comment. Thanks for helping us clarify and expand our knowledge base.

Links

Clearance of Extramural Publications and Presentations SOP

Copyright and Publication for Grantees questions and answers

eSNAP (Electronic Streamlined Noncompeting Award Process) SOP

Grant Bibliography Reporting Using SPIRES and QVR

National Library of Medicine LocatorPlus

NIH Public Access

Noncompeting Progress Reports and Program Officer Approval SOP

Public Access Frequently Asked Questions

Revised Policy on Enhancing Public Access to Archived Publications Resulting from NIH-Funded Research (January 11, 2008)