Restoring Gold Standard Science
Federal Agencies Must Adopt Gold Standard Scientific Practices
What it does
Agencies must implement OSTP guidance to ensure reproducible, transparent science and update policies accordingly.
Real-world impact
- Federal scientific staff must follow new reproducibility and disclosure rules.
- Agencies will publicly release influential data, analyses, and model code.
- Contractors may be required to follow the same scientific rules as employees.
Topics
Summary
This order requires federal agencies to restore a "Gold Standard" for science: work that is reproducible, transparent, honest about uncertainty, peer-reviewed, and free from conflicts of interest. The OSTP Director must issue guidance within 30 days, and agencies must update their scientific policies and report back after guidance.
The rules require public disclosure of influential data, analyses, and models (including, as applicable, source code) when allowed by law, and require agency staff and contractors to follow the new standards to rebuild public trust.
Questions, answered
Ask questions about this executive order and its implications. Try:
- “What agencies are affected by this order?”
- “How does this order change existing policy?”
- “What are the practical implications of this order?”