The Office of Management and Budget amended OMB Circular A-110 on October 8, 1999 to allow members of the public to request access to some university research data created with federal funding. This document attempts to summarize the new rules in question-and-answer format.
What federal awards does this apply to?
How might my data become subject to public release?
What data is subject to release?
Can someone use this rule to get access to information about my ongoing research?
What funding awards does this apply to?
How does this rule affect the way I keep or store data?
How does this affect data from research that isn't funded by the federal government?
When does the new rule take effect?
What federal awards does this apply to?
This applies to all federal awards governed by OMB A-110—grants and agreements (mostly cooperative agreements). It also applies to subawards made by universities to other institutions of higher education, hospitals, and other nonprofit organizations. It doesn’t apply to federal procurement contracts, or other federal contracts subject to the FARs.
How might my data become subject to public release?
If someone wants your data, and meets the requirements of the regulation, they can ask the funding agency to get the data. The agency will then ask UNM for the data. We only have to turn over "data" that meet the narrow definition of the regulation. We have a "reasonable time" in which to do this. We then must turn the data over to the federal agency. The agency will then screen the data and apply any exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act. It will then release any qualifying data to the person requesting it.
What data is subject to release?
Not all data is subject to release. The regulation defines data as "the recorded factual material commonly accepted in the scientific community as necessary to validate research findings." Despite this broad definition, however, the rule exempts all of the following categories of data:
Can someone use this rule to get access to information about my ongoing research?
No. The rule only applies to data relating to published or reported research findings.
What funding awards does this apply to?
You can’t tell in advance whether any particular federal grant or cooperative agreement will be subject to this requirement. It applies when the research findings are "publicly and officially cited" by a federal agency in support of any agency action "that has the force and effect of law." That mostly refers to agency regulations although it can also apply to an administrative order.
How does this rule affect the way I keep or store data?
The rule requires only that you release the data if you have it. It does not require you to keep data in any particular manner, or to keep it longer than you otherwise would. However, because you may need to retrieve the data in response to an FOIA request, you should store it in a way that makes it easy to retrieve, all else being equal.
How does this affect data from research that isn’t funded by the federal government?
The rule applies only to federally funded research data. If the research is funded by both the federal government and other sources, however, all of the data is subject to the rule.
When does the new rule take effect?
The revision to OMB A-110 takes effect November 8, 1999. OMB A-110 does not automatically apply to federal awards; the awarding agency must first adopt it. The rule applies only to awards made after November 8, 1999, or to awards renewed after November 8, 1999. That would make it applicable retroactively to awards made prior to November 8, but renewed after November 8.
Prepared by: Robert E. Bienstock, Sr. Associate University Counsel
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