Policy & Advocacy
SPARC advocates for policies at the local, national, and international level that promote openness in research and education. Listed below are SPARC's active policy priorities. Click here to see previous policies SPARC has advocated for.
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Protecting Research Infrastructure Through Stable Indirect Cost Policy
Open AccessFederal proposals to cap indirect cost rates threaten the research infrastructure that makes public access to scholarship possible. SPARC is working with Congress, agencies and our community to ensure any changes to indirect cost policy are developed collaboratively and implemented with adequate...
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U.S. Federal Public Access Policies
Open Access · Open DataU.S. federal agencies have published and are implementing public access policies focused on making taxpayer-funded research immediately available for the public to freely access and fully use.
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2024 U.S. Department of Education Negotiated Rulemaking
Open EducationThe U.S. Department of Education began a process known as negotiated rulemaking to review and update a variety of higher education regulations including one related to the management of federal financial aid funds or "Cash Management."
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Thursday, June 25, 2026
2026 OMB Proposed Updates to 2 CFR Part 200: Frequently Asked Questions
This resource provides frequently asked questions related to OMB's 2026 proposed updates to 2 CFR Part 200 (the Uniform Guidance). It addresses the three provisions that could directly affect libraries.
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Gold Standard Science: Federal Implementation Strategies and Open Access Policy Intersections
Agency have begun issuing their Gold Standard Science Implementation plans. While Gold Standard Science primarily targets federal agencies' internal operations, its implementation creates new compliance requirements, funding considerations, and operational standards that will affect every...
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Tracking Emerging Trump Administration Actions Related to Open Access
Open AccessSPARC is supporting Peter Suber’s efforts to track emerging Trump Administration actions on open access to research as well as efforts to capture and preserve government science data. You can track the relevant daily developments in these openly-accessible Mastodon threads.
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California’s Zero Textbook Cost Degree Program
Open EducationCalifornia invested $115 million to develop Zero Textbook Cost degrees at the state's community colleges.
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Public Access Language in the U.S. Innovation & Competition Act (USICA)
Open AccessThe House and Senate are considering language that supports providing public access to taxpayer-funded research results in a larger package of competition legislation.
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Open Textbook Pilot Grant Program
Open EducationThe Open Textbook Pilot is a grant program at the U.S. Department of Education that offers funding to colleges and universities to expand the use of open textbooks. SPARC is working to renew and expand funding for this program.
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The Affordable College Textbook Act (H.R.1886/S.740)
Open EducationThe Affordable College Textbook Act seeks to reduce the cost of textbooks at U.S. colleges and universities by expanding the use of open textbooks.
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