Data Sharing & Management
Proposal Prep
Data Management Plan Basics
What is a Data Management Plan?
A Data Management Plan (DMP) is a formal document outlining how data will be managed during and after a research project. The goal of a data management plan is to consider the many aspects of data management, metadata generation, data preservation, and analysis before the project begins with the goal of data being well-managed in the present and prepared for preservation in the future. Many funding agencies, particularly government entities, require a DMP as part of their grant application process. Even if you are not seeking funding for your research, documenting a plan for your research data is a best practice and will help your data comply with UNCG policies for responsible data management.
Elements of a DMP
Funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have established specific criteria for what must be included in a Data Management Plan.
You should review specific guidelines for data management planning from the funding agency you are working with. Elements of your DMP may be reused in your protocols and in the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and methodology descriptions.
Data Elements to consider for a Data Management Plan:
Types of data
What is the source of your data? In what formats are your data? Will your data be fixed, or will it change over time? How much data will your project produce?
Contextual details (metadata)
How will you document and describe your data?
Storage, backup, and security
How and where will you store and secure your data?
Provisions for protection/privacy
What privacy and confidentiality issues must you address?
Policies for re-use
How may other researchers use your data?
Access and sharing
How will you provide access to your data by other researchers? How will others discover your data?
Archiving and providing access
What are your plans for preserving the data and providing long-term access? Will the data be stored in an online repository?
Roles and plan oversight
Who will be responsible for aspects of data management throughout the project, and what resources are required for implementation?
Example DMPs
- Public Data Management Plans from the DMPTool website
- NIH Examples of Data Management and Sharing Plans
- UNCG Examples of Data Management and Sharing Plans
Writing a DMP
It can be helpful to use a tool like DMPTool to create high-quality DMPs that meet the requirements of their specific funding agency. UNCG users can log in with their UNCG Credentials to access funder specific guidance and resources. Learn more about DMPTool.
NIH Data Management and Sharing Plans
2023 NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy
The 2023 NIH Policy requires all grant applications or renewals that generate scientific data to include a robust and detailed plan for how the data will be managed and shared during the entire funded period. This Data Management and Sharing Plan (DMS Plan) should include information on data storage, access policies/procedures, preservation, metadata standards, distribution approaches, and more.
The NIH policy defines scientific data as: ‘The recorded factual material commonly accepted in the scientific community as of sufficient quality to validate and replicate research findings, regardless of whether it is used to support scholarly publications.’
The DMS Plan will be assessed by NIH Program Officers (peer reviewers will comment on the proposed data management budget). The Institute, Center, or Office (ICO)-approved plan becomes a Term and Condition of the Notice of Award.
Data Management and Sharing Plan
If you plan to generate scientific data, you must submit a Data Management and Sharing Plan to the funding NIH ICO in the Budget Justification section of your application for extramural awards. We recommend using the NIH template in DMPTool to create your plan. Find more information on DMPTool here.
The Plan is recommended not to exceed two pages and must include:
- · Data Type
- · Related Tools, Software, and/or Code
- · Standards
- · Data Preservation, Access, and Associated Timelines
- · Access, Distribution, or Reuse Considerations
- · Oversight of Data Management and Sharing.
See Supplemental Information to the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing: Elements of an NIH Data Management and Sharing Plan for a detailed description of these Elements. NIH has provided sample DMS Plans as examples of how a DMS Plan could be completed in different contexts, conforming to the elements described in the Policy. These sample DMS Plans are provided for educational purposes to assist applicants with developing Plans but are not intended to be used as templates and their use does not guarantee approval by NIH.
NIH Resources
- NIH Data Sharing Page
- Elements of Data Sharing Plan
- DMS Sample Plans
- Allowable Costs for Data Management and Sharing
- DMS Plan Sample Page
- DMS Plan Checklist for Researchers
- 2023 DMSP FAQs
- Developing Informed Consent Language
- Selecting a Repository for Data Resulting from NIH-Supported Research
- Repositories for Sharing Scientific Data
- Open Domain-Specific Sharing Repositories
- Generalist Repositories
NSF Data Management and Sharing Plans
National Science Foundation Requirement
Since 2011, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has required Data Management Plans (DMPs) for incoming grant applications. These DMPs are becoming an increasingly important part of NSF grant applications and are thoroughly reviewed. Read the full policy and requirements: Dissemination and Sharing of Research Results.
What is required?
Investigators are required to share primary data, samples, physical collections, and other supporting materials generated during NSF-funded research with other researchers at minimal cost and within a reasonable timeframe.
- A two-page data management plan (DMP) or data sharing plan is required with the grant proposal
- Dataset(s) supporting funded research should be deposited in an appropriate data repository as described in the data management plan
What do I need to submit?
Each project proposal includes a data management plan (DMP). The DMP documents the decision process for preserving data for potential reuse and the cost of recreating the data. The DMP will be reviewed as part of the proposal evaluation process, considered under Intellectual Merit or Broader Impacts or both (see criteria described in the Grant Proposal Guide III.A.2).
Write an NSF DMP
All proposals must include a supplementary document of no more than two pages labeled “Data Management Plan” with the following sections:
- Types of data, samples, physical collections, software, curriculum materials, and other materials to be produced in the course of the project
- Standards to be used for data and metadata format and content (where existing standards are absent or deemed inadequate, this should be documented along with any proposed solutions or remedies)
- Policies for access and sharing, including provisions for appropriate protection of privacy, confidentiality, security, intellectual property, or other rights or requirements
- Policies and provisions for re-use, re-distribution, and the production of derivatives
- Plans for archiving data, samples, and other research products and preserving access to them
To draft the plan itself, we recommend the DMPTool (log in with UNCG Credentials) using the appropriate NSF template. Find more information on DMPTool.
Maintain Your Plan
If your NSF grant application is accepted, you may need to periodically revisit your data management plan to ensure that it still fits your needs. Maintaining your DMP will help you adhere to your commitments to the NSF and showcase your ability to manage your data in future grants.
NSF Resources
DMPTool
The DMPTool is a web-based platform offering templates and guidance to help you create a comprehensive Data Management Plan (link to DMP General tab) .Using DMPTool, researchers can access a template, example answers, and guiding resources to successfully write a data management plan for any research project or grant.
Get Started with DMPTool
- Go to DMPTool
- Enter your UNCG email address in the “Sign in / Sign up” box and click “Continue”
- You should receive a prompt that “Your address is associated with: The University of North Carolina Greensboro (uncg.edu)”
- Click “Sign in with Institution (SSO)”
- Enter your UNCG credentials when prompted and click “Sign In”
Once logged in, you may create DMPs for your project using a template for your funding agency.
- Export your plan: Plans can be exported into Microsoft Word or PDF formats to include in a grant application.
- Test plans: There is an option to create test plans. There is also a generic template if you wish to create a plan not associated with any funder.
The tool includes many templates for federal and private funders including:
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- National Science Foundation (NSF)
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Department of Defense (DOD)
- Department of Energy (DOE)
UNCG DMSP Meeting and Training Recordings
Useful Articles
- Ten Simple Rules for Maximizing the Recommendations of the NIH Data Management and Sharing Plan
- Foundational Practices of Research Data Management, Research Ideas and Outcomes
- Forecasting Costs for Preserving, Archiving, and Promoting Access to Biomedical Data (provides researchers with an overview of existing repositories for research data)
- The FAIR Guiding Principles for Scientific Data Management and Stewardship
