Climate Change Research. Agencies Have Data-Sharing Policies but Could Do More to Enhance the Availability of Data from Federally Funded Research

Much of the nearly $2 billion annual climate change research budget supports grants from the Department of Energy (DOE), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and National Science Foundation (NSF). Some of the data generated by...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Stephenson, John, Raynes, Diane, Browning, Kyle, Cardamone, Kate, Delicath, John, Garvey, Carolyn, Johnson, richard, Musser, Lynn, Raheb, Katherine M
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
ARCHIVES
Atmospheric Physics
CLIMATE
CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH
DATA BASES
DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA-SHARING POLICIES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FEDERAL AGENCIES
FEDERAL BUDGETS
FEDERAL FUNING
GRANTS
INFORMATION EXCHANGE
Information Science
Meteorology
POLICIES
RESEARCH MANAGEMENT
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Test Facilities, Equipment and Methods
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Summary:Much of the nearly $2 billion annual climate change research budget supports grants from the Department of Energy (DOE), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and National Science Foundation (NSF). Some of the data generated by this research are stored in online archives, but much remains in a less accessible format with individual researchers. As a result, some researchers are concerned about the availability of data. GAO analyzed (1) the key issues that data-sharing policies should address; (2) the data-sharing requirements, policies, and practices for external climate change researchers funded by DOE, NASA, NOAA, and NSF; and (3) the extent to which these agencies foster data sharing. GAO examined requirements, policies, and practices and surveyed the 64 officials managing climate change grants at these agencies. GAO recommends the agencies explore opportunities in the grants process to better ensure the availability of data to other researchers and determine if additional archiving strategies are warranted. In commenting on a draft of this report, the four agencies generally agreed with our findings and recommendations. We incorporated technical clarifications as appropriate. Report to Congressional Requesters.