A Data Management Plan (DMP) is a written document which commonly includes an overview of the research data which will be produced including the types and size, the organization & documentation, and ownership & reuse of the data. While creating a plan may initially seem daunting, a good DMP can quickly be seen as an essential step in research. A good DMP will help you manage your data, meet funder and publisher requirements, and allow others to find and reuse your data if shared.
A good data management plan (DMP) should be written for the research project, not for any particular funder. Any DMP can be edited and condensed in parts if needed to meet funder requirements for a proposal; however, different funders will have different requirements. For example, NIH wants all data to be listed, regardless of if it will be eventually shared, while currently NSF’s DMP prompts for information on data which will be shared. Start with a DMP that is written for the research project.
These prompts will help you begin to think about what will be in your DMP. See the Data Management Questions PDF for a full list of questions which will help you create a robust DMP. Always refer to funder requirements for elements required in a DMP which will be submitted as part of a grant proposal. If you have identified journals in which you intend to publish articles stemming from your research, some of their requirements will also help you complete elements of your DMP.
The Funder and Publisher Requirements tab on the Research Data Management Guide provides information for DMPs for proposals.