Navigating Public Access Policies
National Science Foundation (NSF)
On February 21, 2023, the National Science Foundation (NSF) released its Public Access Plan 2.0, outlining steps to advance open science and public access. The updated Proposal and Awards Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) took effect on May 20, 2024, incorporating public access requirements in the Copyright and Publication/Dissemination sections. NSF has since implemented updates to their Public Access Initiative through a series of supplemental policy notices rather than issuing a new plan and PAPPG.
On December 8, 2025, NSF issued Supplemental 1 to the 2024 PAPPG, aligning with the Gold Standard Science Implementation Plan following the May 23, 2025 “Restoring Gold Standard Science” executive order. This update revised the Data Management & Sharing Plan (DMSP), requiring recipients to share all data supporting NSF-funded publications at the time of publication.
On January 22, 2026, the NSF Supplemental 2 further strengthened public access requirements by eliminating the 12-month embargo on author accepted manuscripts (AAMs), requiring them to be publicly available at or before publication.
Access guides, videos, and helpful links.
Learn more on the copyright, publication, dissemination.
Not seeing what you're looking for?
We’re here to help—visit our FAQs, send us your questions or feedback, or contact your departmental compliance specialist for additional support.