Research Data Management

What is a Data Management Plan?  

• A comprehensive plan of how you will manage your research data throughout the lifecycle of your research project.
• A brief description of how you will comply with funder’s data sharing policy, reviewed as part of a grant application.
• A formal document that outlines how you will handle your data both during your research, and after the project is completed.

It can be a plan that you use internally to document the procedures and data handling guidelines in your lab - a roadmap or blueprint.  A resource that you can use when new students join the lab, or new colleagues become affiliated with the project.  It explains how you do stuff.  Think of it as your instruction manual.

It can be a brief paragraph that answers a question or two from a funder that covers their data management requirement. These are usually included in the narrative section of a proposal.  It may also be an extensive description of your data management plans, written throughout the proposal.

The most familiar variation is a formal document called a data management plan (DMP) that is required by funders and that must be included to even submit your proposal.   

It may also be called a Data Sharing Plan (DSP), or a Data Access Plan (DAP), or a Resource Sharing Plan (RSP), or a Data Management and Sharing Plan (DMSP), or a Data Management and Access Plan (DMAP), or....whatever the funder chooses to call it.  Each funder will have different requirements, and a different focus.  The most important thing to remember is to draft a DMP that answers the questions that the funder is asking, in the manner that they prefer.  

Remember that a DMP is an iterative document. It can, and should, be updated if necessary. Because it is usually written before the project is funded it is not unusual that changes may need to be made to it. 

DMPs should not be confused with Research Plans, Project Plans, Data Security Plans, Resource Sharing Plans, or Data Collection Plans. 

There are several tools available to help you draft a DMP.  We also provide templates that you can use.  The next three sections of this guide cover these areas.

DMP Templates 

Do you need a template to draft a data management plan?  Not everyone wants to use the DMPTool, and we understand. Maybe you would like to have a template that you can use in a classroom setting so your students can practice writing a plan. Perhaps you would simply like to see what the requirements are for a given funder, so you can get a head start on your next grant proposal.

The NSF and NEH templates are identical to the ones in the DMPTool. The NIH, DOE and IES templates were created in response to these funders changing requirements. The CDC templates are created from their original draft templates. Some funders have specific requirements for a program, and those guidance documents are also available here.  All templates are in Word format, and Rich Text format are available by request.  

The appropriate guidance documents are provided with the templates.  I have also created some discipline-specific guidance for a few of the templates.  They are based on my experience with DMPs for those funders. 

To download the templates simply click the link.  You can also visit the template page on our website to download them. 

The U.S Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences solicits grant proposals in 2 major categories: Research Programs and Research Training Programs.  Funding opportunities are posted each year in May for the next calendar year. http://ies.ed.gov/funding/.

IES 2020 with UVa-specific guidance

IES 2020 

Office of Digital Humanities (ODH)

neh-odh template

Digital Humanities Advancement Grants: see Attachment 8 for DMP requirements (1/2020)

Blog: Planning 3: Managing and Sustaining the Project Assets - Data Management Plans (11/2019) 

• nih-gen template 

• NIH Sharing Policies and Related Guidance on NIH-Funded Research Resources 

• NIH Data Sharing Policy and Implementation Guidance 

• Key Elements to Consider in Preparing a Data Sharing Plan Under NIH Extramural Support 

• NIH Data Standards and Common Data Elements Resource Guide 

• NIH Common Data Element (CDE) Resource Portal 

• NIH Single IRB Policy for Multi-site Research 2018 

• NIH Data Sharing Repositories 

• NIH Sharing Policy Statement 

• NIH Grants Policy Statement 

• nih-gds template  

• NIH Guidance for Investigators in Developing Genomic Data Sharing Plans

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

• Grants  

• Additional requirement - 25: Data Management and Access CDC requires recipients for projects that involve the collection or generation of data with federal funds to develop, submit and comply with a Data Management Plan (DMP) for each collection or generation of public health data undertaken as part of the award and, to the extent appropriate, provide access to, and archiving/long-term preservation of, collected or generated data.

• Data Management Plan Template for CDC Datasets
• Data Sharing Agreement Template for CDC Surveillance and Research Datasets

• Data Access Request Template for CDC Surveillance and Research Datasets 

• Public Use Dataset Release Template for CDC Surveillance and Research Datasets 

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education: Research Participation Programs at The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 

• Research Goals 
• NIOSH Program Portfolio 
• NIOSH Office of Extramural Research (OEP) 
• NIOSH Priority Goals for Extramural Research 
• Grant Process 
• Award Terms & Conditions, Federal Regulations and Policies based on the NIH process. NIH Forms and Instructions 
• Investigator - Initiated Research and Mentored Research Scientist Career Development  

NOAA Data Management Plan template