Different funders and publishers will have different data management requirements. As an example, a data management plan (DMP) written for an NSF proposal might not include requirements of a DOE proposal. It is important to know and meet the requirements specific for your particular funder, grant program, and publisher. Always read your Funding Opportunity Announcement or Solicitation for additional or specific requirements.
This page includes links to policy for common US Federal funders, including NSF, DOE, NIH, NEH, and IES; and sharing policy for publishers including Nature and Science. Contact us to receive DMP consultation for any research project or funding application.
The DMPTool allows you to use a template to create a data management plan for your grant application. Answering the questions in the template to create your plan. It is helpful to answering the questions on the "Data Management Plans" tab prior to using the DMPTool.
Many publishers require that data which supports the underlying research reported in an article be made available to any reader of the journal which publishes the article. These requirements are not always posted on the Information For Authors page; look in other areas if a data sharing requirement isn’t readily apparent. Publishers also sometimes recommend repositories for data in different disciplines; this is useful if you are not familiar with repositories in your field.
Dryad, a free data repository for all UC Riverside researchers, works with journals to integrate article submission with data submission.
Just a few data sharing policies
The DOE requires that all proposals submitted to the Office of Science for research finding including a Data Management Plan (DMP). There are three levels of DMP requirements which must be met: general DOE, Program Office specific, and FOA requirements.
DOE Program Offices
National Science Foundation
NSF requires that all current proposals include a Data Management Plan as a supplementary document, to be no more than two pages, to conform to their data sharing policy. Investigators are expected to share data, samples, and supporting materials created or gathered during NSF funded research (Award & Administration Guide (AAG) Chapter VI.D.4).
NSF has three levels of DMP requirements: Directorate, division, or unit specific; Grant Proposal Guide which must be followed if guidance specific to the program is not provided; and Program Solicitation guidance which must be followed if provided.
Public Access Policies
Overall Guidance (2023)
Overall Guidance (2024, NSF 24-1: Effective for proposals submitted or due on or after May 20, 2024)
Directorate Guidance
Cross-Directorate Programs
docs last checked: 20240220 kek
Data isn’t generated only in the sciences! Digital Humanities projects also create and collect data. NEH has a DMP requirement for proposals and awards. NEH provides sample grant narratives from successful ODH applications, which include DMPs, and guidelines for DMP creation.
IES has policy requiring DMPs with all current grant applications. Data sharing is currently required for Goal 4 Effectiveness and Goal 3 Efficacy and Replication grants. In FY2016, IES included a requirement for data sharing for the Research Networks on Critical Problems of Policy and Practice competition
Starting in 2023, all NIH proposals that generate scientific data will require a Data Management and Sharing Plan for sharing final research data for research purposes, or state why data sharing is not possible. The plan must state how the applicant will maintain and protect the rights and confidentiality of participants, if human subjects are involved.
Proposals which generate large-scale genomic data may be subject to NIH’s Genomic Data Sharing (GDS) Policy.
NIH is moving toward an integrated data-ecosystem.