APHIS Asks for Extension of Approval for Information Collection

On 14 March, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (ref. 1), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the intention of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to “request an extension of approval of an information collection in support of the regulations issued under the Animal Welfare Act [AWA] governing the humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation of certain animals by dealers, research institutions, exhibitors, carriers, and intermediate handlers2.”

Research facilities must maintain records for animals covered under the AWA that are used for teaching, testing, and experimentation. APHIS uses this information to enforce the AWA and prepare annual Animal Welfare Enforcement reports to Congress. APHIS is asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve its use of these information collection activities for an additional three years.

NIH Announces Final Statement on Sharing Research Data

On 26 February, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that after 1 October, researchers submitting NIH grant proposals for $500,000 or more in direct costs in a given year must include a plan for the “timely release and sharing of final research data from NIH-supported studies for use by other researchers3”, or state why they cannot do so at least six weeks before the anticipated submission date of their research proposals. Individuals reviewing research proposals may not consider the proposed data-sharing plan when determining the scientific merit or priority score of the research proposal. Data must be made available when the main findings from the research set are accepted for publication. Additional information on data sharing is available in NIH's website4.

The “Privacy Rule” of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a federal regulation that governs how certain health care providers, health care clearinghouses, and health plans, use and disclose identifiable health information5. NIH requires investigators to protect the rights and privacy of people who participate in NIH-sponsored research at all times, and preclude information that would link to individual participants or identify them. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is the Departmental component responsible for implementing and enforcing the privacy regulation6.