&gt; Today&#x27;s &#x27;big science&#x27; grant funding model is so far removed from the average citizen or constituent, that by the time they see or feel the impact, it&#x27;s hardly recognizable anymore. Because it&#x27;s behind paywalls, or is too technical, or locked in IP, or anti-collaboration.<p>To partially address this, those of us in the US should support the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research bill[0, 1]. FASTR would essentially mandate all journal articles resulting from federally funded research to be published in an open repository online after a short embargo period, as in NIH PubMed Central.<p>To effect real change, we&#x27;ll need to see senior researchers lead the way in publishing in open journals, and there just isn&#x27;t buy-in among that crowd in some fields outside of math, physics, and CS.<p>In addition, I think researchers need to do a better job personally engaging the public regarding their research. Fully addressing the gap between researchers and the general public may well require an educational component.<p>0: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.sparc.arl.org&#x2F;advocacy&#x2F;national&#x2F;fastr&#x2F;faq" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.sparc.arl.org&#x2F;advocacy&#x2F;national&#x2F;fastr&#x2F;faq</a>
1: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.congress.gov&#x2F;bill&#x2F;114th-congress&#x2F;senate-bill&#x2F;779" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.congress.gov&#x2F;bill&#x2F;114th-congress&#x2F;senate-bill&#x2F;779</a>