Administration Fumbling Toward Scientific Integrity

The Obama administration's efforts to protect scientific integrity moved forward recently with the submission of five finalized agency policies and 14 draft policies, but progress has been slow and haphazard. The administration recognizes that sound, uncensored science is critically important to protecting public health and the environment. The administration also understands that agencies should foster a culture of scientific integrity that includes effective policies and oversight to protect science from political manipulation and research misconduct. However, it has yet to undo the damage wrought by the previous administration.

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Scientific Integrity Policies Moving Forward, But Still Little Sunlight

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced in a blog post today that nearly all the agencies participating in the development of scientific integrity policies had submitted draft policies to OSTP. The deadline for agencies to do so was last week. The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are behind schedule but are expected to submit their policies soon.

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New Executive Order Could Improve Government Websites

On April 27, President Obama signed Executive Order 13571, entitled "Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service." Building on a Clinton-era order, E.O. 13571 requires agencies to develop plans to make their customer service more efficient and effective. Agencies have to publish their plans online within 180 days.

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Finally, a Deadline for Scientific Integrity Policies

Today, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced that it was asking agencies to submit their draft scientific integrity policies within 90 days.

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Science Package Addresses Access to Federally-Funded Research, Scientific Collections

The House today approved the Senate's amendments to the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act (HR 5116). The bill now heads to President Obama for his signature. Among a variety of science-related topics, the COMPETES reauthorization contains two provisions about public access to federal science.

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White House Announces Video.gov

At the Gov 2.0 Summit this week, White House Deputy Chief Technology Officer Andrew McLaughlin announced plans to build a government-wide Video.gov platform — and set a goal that such videos would garner millions of views over the next year.

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