National Research Council & Policy and Global Affairs 
Access to Research Data in the 21st Century 
An Ongoing Dialogue Among Interested Parties: Report of a Workshop

In the years since the Shelby Amendment, scientists, industry, and policy makers have struggled over how the publics new right of access should be applied to scientific data. There is loose agreement that research data should be accessible, but wide disagreement over the depth to which the public has such a right. The National Academies Science, Technology, and Law Program held a workshop to explore the mounting tensions in the federal regulatory process between the need to provide access to research data and the need to protect the integrity of the research process. The workshop provided a picture of the debate arising from passage of the Shelby Amendment and the resulting OMB revisions of Circular A-110. This report is a summary of the workshop.