By Neil Chue Hong, Director.

From 1 May 2015, organisations that receive EPSRC funding, and their researchers, are expected to comply with the EPSRC policy framework on research data. This sets out EPSRC’s principles and expectations concerning the management and provision of access to EPSRC-funded research data, in particular the principle that "research data is a public good produced in the public interest and should be made freely and openly available with as few restrictions as possible in a timely and responsible manner".

We've written a guide to clarify how these expectations relate to research software. It explains how access to research software may be provided in line with the policy, and provides examples of common situations and how they can be dealt with.

This should provide advice for those developing or using research software as part of EPSRC-funded research who are still unclear about how the policy affects them. If you have further questions about the EPSRC research data policy, please get in touch with your EPSRC contact.