Throughout OECD member countries, growing quantities of data are collected by publicly-funded researchers and research institutions. This rapidly expanding body of research data represents both a mas sive investment of public funds and a potential source of knowledge to help address the myriad challenges facing humanity. To assist OECD member countries in their efforts to provide access to these research data, the OECD has developed Principles and Guidelines for Access to Research Data from Public Funding. These provide a broad framework that is intended to assist governments and research funding bodies of Member countries in formulating their policies. They are generally intended to promote data access and sharing among researchers, research institutions, and national research agencies, while recognising and taking into account, the various national laws, research policies and organisational structures of Member countries.

The ultimate goal of the Principles and Guidelines is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the global science system. New information and communication technologies (ICTs) are opening up new avenues for collaboration and sharing of research data. Research data, in digital form, are increasingly being used in research endeavours beyond the original project for which they were gathered, in other research fields and in industry. Sharing and increased access to publicly funded research data not only helps to increase the potential of new digital technologies and networks in advancing research, but also provides greater returns from public investment in research. Improved access to, and sharing of, data reinforces open scientific inquiry, encourages diversity of analysis and opinion, promotes new research, enables the testing of new or alternative hypotheses and methods of analysis, supports studies on data collection methods and measurement, facilitates the education of new researchers, enables the exploration of topics not envisioned by the initial investigators, and permits the creation of new data sets when data from multiple sources are combined.

This paper sets out the OECD Principles and Guidelines, their objectives and background, the way in which they were developed, and their potential uses by member countries.

Keywords: international data policy, data management, data cooperation, data access, data laws