It is NIH policy that the results and accomplishments of the activities that it funds should be made available to the public.  PIs and funding recipient institutions are expected to make the results and accomplishments of their activities available to the research community and to the public at large.  The following links highlight selected NIH policies and related guidance on sharing of research resources developed with NIH funding.

• NIH Grants Policy Statement (Availability of Research Results) (10/2012) - Section of the NIH Grants Policy Statement discussing the availability of research results developed with NIH funding, including publications, data, unique research resources, and intellectual property (inventions and patents).
  
  
• Developing Sponsored Research Agreements (Considerations for Recipients of NIH Research Grants and Contracts) (11/1994) - Issues and points to consider in developing sponsored research agreements with commercial entities, where such agreements may include research activities which are fully or partially funded by NIH, in order to assist funding recipients ensure such agreements comply with the requirements of the Bayh-Dole Act and NIH funding agreements while upholding basic principles of academic freedom.
  
  
• Biological Materials Policy (NIH Procedures for Handling Non-Election of Title to Patentable Biological Materials) (05/1996) - NIH policy for allowing NIH funding recipients to retain and license biological materials for which patent protection might not be pursued.
  
  
• NIH Research Tools Policy (Principles and Guidelines for Recipients of NIH Research Grants and Contracts on Obtaining and Disseminating Biomedical Research Resources) (12/1999) - (PDF – 150 KB) - Policy designed to provide NIH funding recipients with guidance concerning appropriate terms for disseminating and acquiring unique research resources developed with federal funds, and intended to assist recipients in complying with their obligations under the Bayh-Dole Act and NIH funding policy.
  
  
• NIH Data Sharing Policy (Final NIH Statement on Sharing Research Data) (02/2003) - Policy concerning the sharing of research data for funding applications seeking $500,000 or more in direct costs in any year of the project period.
  
  
• Data Sharing Regulations/Policy/Guidance Chart for NIH Awards (08/30/2006) - (MS Word - 62 KB) - This chart is designed as a quick guide only for the purpose of identifying various data sharing regulation/policy/guidance documents applicable to NIH funding.



• NIH Model Organism Sharing Policy (NIH Policy on Sharing of Model Organisms for Biomedical Research) (05/2004) - Policy concerning the sharing and distributing of model organisms and related research resources generated using NIH funding.
  
  
• NIH Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) Policy (Policy for Sharing of Data Obtained in NIH Supported or Conducted Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS)) (08/2007) - Policy concerning sharing of GWAS data obtained in NIH supported or conducted research.



• NIH Public Access Policy (02/2005) - Policy on Enhancing Public Access to Archived Publications Resulting from NIH-Funded Research.



• Key Elements to Consider in Preparing a Data Sharing Plan under NIH Extramural Support (12/2009) – (PDF - 32 KB) - This resource document is designed to assist the NIH extramural applicant community in preparing data sharing plans by identifying key elements that should be addressed in the plan.



• Example Plan addressing Key Elements for a Data Sharing Plan under NIH Extramural Support (08/2010) - (MS Word - 55 KB) - This resource document is designed to assist the NIH extramural applicant community in preparing data sharing plans by providing an example that shows how a sharing plan addresses the key elements for a data sharing plan.
  
  
• Data Standards and Common Data Elements Resource Guide (09/2011) - (MS Word - 29 KB) - This resource guide document is designed to assist the NIH extramural community in identifying and utilizing certain data standards and common data elements in NIH programs.
  
  
• Data Repositories Resource Guide (09/2012) - (MS Word - 30 KB) - This resource guide document is designed to assist the NIH extramural community by identifying examples of data repositories which may be used for sharing data developed under NIH funding programs, consistent with NIH sharing policies.

For any questions or further guidance or assistance, please email sharing@nih.gov.

For any questions or further guidance or assistance for extramural invention reporting and related intellectual property policy issues, please refer to http://inventions.nih.gov or email Inventions@nih.gov.