From 2004 to 2006 the 30-nation Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) developed a set of guidelines based on commonly agreed principles to facilitate cost-effective access to digital research data generated through public funding. Endorsed by the OECD Council on December 14, 2006, the “OECD Principles and Guidelines for Access to Research Data from Public Funding” serve as objectives for each member country to achieve given its own legal, cultural, economic, and social context.

The Principles and Guidelines cover 13 broad areas:

The Principles and Guidelines call “for a flexible approach to data access” under a default principle of openness and recognize “that one size does not fit all.” They also state that “Whatever differences there may be between practices of, and policies on, data sharing, and whatever legitimate restrictions may be put on data access, practically all research could benefit from more systematic sharing.”

NOTE: For more information, see Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2007. OECD Principles and Guidelines for Access to Research Data from Public Funding. Available at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/9/61/38500813.pdf.