What is a Data Management Plan?
A Data Management Plan (DMP) is a document outlining how data will be collected, processed, analyzed, described, preserved, and shared during the entirety of a research project's lifecycle. Many federal funding agencies, some non-profit granting agencies, and even corporate funders now require grant applicants to submit a data management plan.
This guide can serve as a resource to familiarize yourself with DMP's and how to properly write one using the information and tools highlighted on this page. If you have specific questions about data management plans or the DMPTool, please contact datahelp@uta.edu. Or if you would like to make an appointment for a DMP consultation please visit: https://libraries.uta.edu/research/data.
About DMPTool
The DMPTool is a collaborative effort among several universities to streamline the data management planning process. UTA is an institutional partner of the DMPTool, so you can choose UTA as your institution and sign in with your NetID and password, eliminating the need for a separate account.
The DMPTool supports the majority of federal and many non-profit and private funding agencies that require data management plans as part of a grant application. If the funder you're applying to isn't listed or you just want to create one as good practice, there is an option for a generic plan.
National Institutes of Health
The NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy “applies to all research, funded or conducted in whole or in part by NIH, that results in the generation of scientific data.” The NIH defines scientific data as, “data commonly accepted in the scientific community as being of sufficient quality to validate and replicate the research findings.” The types of research funding that fall under the NIH policy includes extramural grants, contracts, Intramural Research Projects, or other funding agreements regardless of funding level or mechanism.
NIH’s DMS Policy requires:
For more information on NIH's DMP requirements, or to read the full policy, please visit: http://www.grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing/data_sharing_guidance.htm
To view the answers to frequently asked questions about the DMS Policy, please visit:
https://sharing.nih.gov/faqs#/data-management-and-sharing-policy.htm?anchor=11822
National Science Foundation
The NSF Data Sharing Policy requires that funded investigators include a document in their proposals that outline how they share with other researchers, at no more than incremental cost and within a reasonable time, the primary data, samples, physical collections, and other supporting materials created or gathered in the course of work under an NSF awards. These documents are no more than two pages and should describe how the proposal will conform to NSF policy on the dissemination and sharing of research results. The content of this document may include:
For more information on the NSF's Data Sharing Policy, please visit:
https://new.nsf.gov/funding/data-management-plan
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA's Open Science and Data Management Plan (OSDMP) must be included with all proposals unless otherwise stated. The OSDMP must address how publications, data, and software will be made available and must address the following elements with the appropriate level of detail:
Data that is needed to validate the scientific conclusions of peer-reviewed publications resulting from a NASA award must be made available at the time of publication. The remaining scientifically useful data must be made available at the end of the award. "Made available" means publicly and electronically archived in a place where it can be found and it is likely to persist.
For more information on NASA's Open Science and Data Management Plan Policy, please visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/researchers/sara/faqs/osdmp/
Department of Defense
The DoD Data Management Plan will describe the scientific data created or gathered as part of DoD intramural and extramural research. The plan will describe how and where the data will be made available to the public and explicitly describe how the data that underlies scientific publications will be available for discovery, retrieval, and analysis. This plan will outline the sharing of research results and may include:
For more information on the DoD's Data Management Plan Policy, please visit:
https://discover.dtic.mil/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/dod_public_access_plan_feb2015.pdf
Department of Energy
The DoE Data Management Plan will describe research data created or gathered as part of DoE funded research. Submitted plans will describe how relevant research data was captured, analyzed, shared, and preserved. All DMPs submitted to any DOE sponsoring office should meet the following requirements:
For more information on the DoE's Data Management Plan Policy, please visit:
https://www.energy.gov/datamanagement/doe-requirements-and-guidance-digital-research-data-management
Department of Transportation
The DoT's Data Management Policy requires that submitted DMPs "describe how the research proposal conforms to DOT policy on the dissemination and sharing of research results. Each plan should include a 2-3 page narrative description covering:
DOT-funded research projects are expected to be conducted pursuant to the approved DMP. A DMP may evolve as the research project evolves and should be reviewed for possible revision whenever a data management procedure is changed."
For more information on DoT's DMP requirements, or to read the full policy, please visit:
https://ntl.bts.gov/ntl/public-access/creating-data-management-plans-extramural-research
National Endowment for the Humanities
The NEH Data Management Policy requires DMP's to be no more than two pages and should "describe the types of data, samples, physical collections, software, curriculum materials, or other materials to be produced in the course of the project. It should then describe the expected types of data to be retained.
Project directors should address matters such as these in the DMP:
For more information on NEH's DMP requirements, or to read the full policy, please visit:
https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/inline-files/Data%20Management%20Plans%2C%202019.pdf