Data Policies
The proprietary period for Regular, Large, and Triggered proposals is normally a maximum of 12 months after the last observation. For data acquired by the VLBA, HSA, or GMVA the nominal proprietary period begins when the correlated data are entered into the data archive by NRAO science operations. At its discretion, the TAC may recommend a proprietary period that differs from the nominal 12 month period. For Large proposals, the proposing team is required to include a data reduction and release plan as part of its proposal justification. While the proprietary period for Large proposals may be up to a maximum of 12 months, the proposers are encouraged to make their data available to the public after a shorter proprietary period.
The TAC recommendation regarding any change in the normal proprietary period is considered as part of the Directors' Review. If the recommendation is accepted, the proposers will be informed and the reason will be provided.
The proprietary period for data acquired by DDT proposals will normally be no more than 6 months and may be waived entirely; i.e., under certain circumstances, the data will be available to other teams or the public as soon as they are acquired. An example where this option might be exercised is when the announcement of a transient event by one team triggers an active proposal of another team. The data would be made available to both teams immediately.
The proprietary period for DDT proposals will be assigned by the relevant Site Director in consultation with the NRAO Director or his/her designee.
