Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
This week, President Andrew Armacost hosts two guests to talk about a 2022 federal directive taking effect at the end of 2025.
The Nelson Memo, which came from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, requires any academic publication funded by federal agencies to be free and open to the public. This rule also includes data associated with such publications.
Colin Combs, associate vice president for Research & Economic Development, says this is a shift from previous rules that only affected federal agencies with budgets exceeding $100 million annually. Now, all federal agencies that fund research must comply and have a policy by the end of the calendar year.
Armacost remarks that the change serves to promote future discovery by making data and publications more broadly available.
Also taking part in the conversation is Zeineb Yousif, digital initiatives librarian, to help further explain how this affects researchers at UND.
Combs emphasizes that the Nelson Memo only affects publications supported by a federal agency. If this is the case, the manuscript must either be available in an open access journal, or fees must be paid to make the manuscript publicly available.
He recommends that researchers connect with the relevant supporting agency and adjust grant proposals to both potentially cover such costs and determine which repositories are recommended for depositing data.
Yousif shares other ways such costs can be covered, such as transformative agreements — a way of ensuring UND’s agreements with academic publishers cover both reading and publishing costs up front.
UND also uses a tool called SciFree that enables researchers to search for and connect with publishers and journals that participate in open access publishing and have existing agreements with the University.
Those looking for more information and resources can visit the Chester Fritz Library’s webpage dedicated to the Nelson Memo, which includes information on data management and repositories, open access publishing and relevant UND contacts available to answer questions.
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Founded in 1883, six years before the state itself was established, the University of North Dakota is a busy 521-acre campus, the state’s largest. We're an innovator in engineering, medicine, aviation and unmanned aircraft systems with colleges of business, arts, sciences, nursing, aerospace, education, engineering and medicine. Undergraduate and graduate degrees are offered online and on campus.
WEBSITE: https://und.edu/
ABOUT: https://und.edu/about/index.html
MAJORS: https://und.edu/programs/
VISIT: https://und.edu/admissions/visit/
APPLY: https://und.edu/admissions/apply.html
Follow us on social media:
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#college #undproud #university #collegelife #studentlife
This week, President Andrew Armacost hosts two guests to talk about a 2022 federal directive taking effect at the end of 2025.
The Nelson Memo, which came from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, requires any academic publication funded by federal agencies to be free and open to the public. This rule also includes data associated with such publications.
Colin Combs, associate vice president for Research & Economic Development, says this is a shift from previous rules that only affected federal agencies with budgets exceeding $100 million annually. Now, all federal agencies that fund research must comply and have a policy by the end of the calendar year.
Armacost remarks that the change serves to promote future discovery by making data and publications more broadly available.
Also taking part in the conversation is Zeineb Yousif, digital initiatives librarian, to help further explain how this affects researchers at UND.
Combs emphasizes that the Nelson Memo only affects publications supported by a federal agency. If this is the case, the manuscript must either be available in an open access journal, or fees must be paid to make the manuscript publicly available.
He recommends that researchers connect with the relevant supporting agency and adjust grant proposals to both potentially cover such costs and determine which repositories are recommended for depositing data.
Yousif shares other ways such costs can be covered, such as transformative agreements — a way of ensuring UND’s agreements with academic publishers cover both reading and publishing costs up front.
UND also uses a tool called SciFree that enables researchers to search for and connect with publishers and journals that participate in open access publishing and have existing agreements with the University.
Those looking for more information and resources can visit the Chester Fritz Library’s webpage dedicated to the Nelson Memo, which includes information on data management and repositories, open access publishing and relevant UND contacts available to answer questions.
---
Founded in 1883, six years before the state itself was established, the University of North Dakota is a busy 521-acre campus, the state’s largest. We're an innovator in engineering, medicine, aviation and unmanned aircraft systems with colleges of business, arts, sciences, nursing, aerospace, education, engineering and medicine. Undergraduate and graduate degrees are offered online and on campus.
WEBSITE: https://und.edu/
ABOUT: https://und.edu/about/index.html
MAJORS: https://und.edu/programs/
VISIT: https://und.edu/admissions/visit/
APPLY: https://und.edu/admissions/apply.html
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: instagram.com/uofnorthdakota
Facebook: facebook.com/UofNorthDakota
Twitter: twitter.com/UofNorthDakota
#college #undproud #university #collegelife #studentlife
