Official scientific integrity

In mid-December, 20 federal agencies and departments submitted scientific integrity policies to the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The various bodies are drafting independent policies to mesh with their own missions and cultures, but all are subject to certain minimum requirements.

Those requirements include facilitating the free flow of scientific and technological information; ensuring that research used to support policy decisions undergoes independent peer review; hiring people into S&T positions in the executive branch based on their knowledge, credentials, experience, and integrity; and implementing procedures to address lapses in scientific integrity and to protect whistleblowers.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was one of the earliest to be ready, announcing its policy in early December. Paul Sandifer, who led the effort to draft the NOAA policy, says it spells out that “not only are scientists expected to work with integrity, but those who manage must also commit to noninterference and no effort to suppress, distort, or alter scientific findings.” The policy also states that NOAA scientists are free to speak to the media without first obtaining clearance, and that they can voice their personal opinions, as long as they indicate when they are doing so.

John Holdren, assistant to the president and director of OSTP, wrote on the office’s blog that the new policies, which were created at the direction of President Obama, “will help ensure that federally supported science and scientific information remain undiluted and untainted—not only for policymakers but also for the public.”