The White House Office of Science & Technology Policy mandated in February, 2013 that all federal agencies with an Research and Development budget greater than $100 million must devise a plan for providing access to research publications and data created by grant funding. Director John Holden’s memorandum provides the details for the policy.
Federal agencies have varying requirements for data management plans, and almost all of them have a data sharing policy. Many agencies have subdivisions that have additional requirements. Private funders also are beginning to implement data sharing requirements. The following list provides links to each agency home page, and to their data management plan requirements and data sharing policies as indicated. Given our experience working with researchers in many areas, we often have a good sense of what is expected from many agencies and tracks within those agencies.
NEWS:
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released their new Data Management and Sharing Policy after a 5 year cycle of community input and revisions. It will take effect on January 25, 2023.
- Final NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing
- Supplemental Information to the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing: Elements of an NIH Data Management and Sharing Plan
- Supplemental Information to the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing: Allowable Costs for Data Management and Sharing
- Supplemental Information to the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing: Selecting a Repository for Data Resulting from NIH-Supported Research
The NSF has released the 2021 version of their PAPPG (NSF 22-1) Proposal and Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PDF) which will be effective October 4, 2021.
The NSF issued a Dear Colleague Letter: Effective Practices for Data, on May 20, 2019. The purpose of this DCL is to describe – and encourage – effective practices for managing research data, including the use of persistent identifiers (IDs) for data and machine-readable data management plans (DMPs).
“Movement towards open science by the research community offers the potential to enhance public benefits of science and engineering research. Open science provides new opportunities for researchers to access research findings and data, which in turn has the potential to advance knowledge in many critical domains. The capacity of science and engineering research to achieve these advances depends on the extent to which researchers are aware of, and use, effective practices for data preparation, curation, and distribution. Through this DCL, NSF encourages researchers to learn about the practices described above, and to implement them in the proposals that they prepare for submission to NSF.”
For more in-depth information on these funders and their requirements (including links), visit our Research Data Management guide. Contact us if you have questions or need guidance as you work through this process.
Federal Agencies
- National Science Foundation (NSF): NSF requires that all proposals include a data management plan in the form of a two-page supplementary document. There may be additional requirements for each Directorate, Office, Division or Program. NSF Data Sharing Policy.
- Department of Energy (DOE): All DOE proposals require a DMP. Sponsoring Offices may have additional requirements. DOE Policy for Digital Research Data Management.
- National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): General Terms and Conditions for Awards (for awards issued May 2009 or later)
- Office of Digital Humanities (ODH): All proposals require a DMP. Depending on tier, they may require a Sustainability Plan. Additional information is found in the General Terms and Conditions for Awards (for awards issued October 2010 or later). Information about the Digital Humanities Advancement Grants for 2019.
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): Data and Information Policy and Data Rights and Related Issues. All proposals require a DMP which has a 4000 character limit, including spaces. Additional information is available from the Data Management Plans in the NRA and CAN Proposer’s Guidebook (2018), and each unit may have additional or different requirements in their NRA’s and CAN’s.
- National Institute of Justice (NIJ): Many proposals require a DAP (data archiving plan). Specific requirements are included in each solicitation. Refer to the information in the Data Resources Program. Data generated by NIJ funding is usually required to be deposited in the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD).
- Department of Transportation (DOT): All DOT-funded research proposals, intramural and extramural, must include a supplementary document labeled “Data Management Plan” (DMP). U.S. DOT Public Access Plan. DOT Public Access website (includes Info For Researchers section) Creating Data Management Plans for Extramural Research (National Transportation Library). The Public Access Plan FAQs provide more in-depth information for researchers.
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – EPA Research (Office of Research & Development) operate 6 programs. Proposals don’t require a DMP. Solicitations (RFA) are selected by Competition, and require a Research Plan which should include information about the data you will create or use, analytical tools you will use, and the results you expect to achieve. A Quality Assurance Statement (2-3 pages) will be required if the proposal involves data collection or processing. A Data Plan (2 pages) describing how you will make the data resulting from the funded research available. Human Subject research requires additional documentation. Data quality is very important to the EPA. Research Grants Guidance and Policy.
- U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC):
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): Proposals are required to have a DMP. Public Access to NIST Research includes the DMP requirement – section 4 Requirements. Additional information in section V. Interim and Final Reports requirements for data and other research products.
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): All proposals require a DMP. The NOAA Data Management Plan Procedural Directive provides access to the PD, and the template. The Data and Publication Sharing Directive provides additional information. Additional links and information about Scientific Data Stewardship are provided by the National Centers for Environmental Information.
- U.S. Department of Education – Institute of Education Sciences (IES): IES Policy Regarding Public Access to Research, Policy Statement on Public Access to Data Resulting from IES Funded Grants and Implementation Guide for Public Access to Research Data
- Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): Guiding Principles and Common Approach for Enhancing Public Access to the Results of Research Funded by HHS Operating Divisions.
- Administration for Community Living (ACL): Public Access Plan
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): All proposals are required to include a DMP. Public Access to Federally Funded Research, section 8 Implementation: Digital data.
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) & Public Health Emergency (PHE): All proposals must include a DMP, and may also require a DSP. The Publications and Data document details the requirements.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Proposals don’t require a DMP, but there are very specific requirements for data sharing and data management in the CDC Plan For Increasing Access to Scientific Publications and Digital Scientific Data Generated with CDC Funding. CDC/ATSDR Policy on Releasing and Sharing Data.
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Science & Research: Proposals require a DMP. Information about the requirements are in the FDA Staff Manual Guides, section 3.B.1, 3.B.2, D.1 and D.2 Plan to Increase Access to Results of FDA-Funded Scientific Research.
- National Institutes of Health (NIH): All proposals requesting funds greater than $500,000 of direct costs are required to submit a DSP (data sharing plan). Several NIH Institutes have specific policies, and many programs have additional requirements. The Scientific Data Management Program provides information on scientific data generation, management, sharing, and access. The Genomics and Health Program provides information and policies on genetic and genomic research. NIH Sharing Policies directory. NIH Data Sharing Policy. NIH Genomic Data Sharing. The NIH Grants Policy Statement (NIHGPS) “is intended to make available to NIH recipients, in a single document, the policy requirements that serve as the terms and conditions of NIH grant awards” (October 2018).
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): Proposals do not require a DMP, but they do require data collection and performance measurement information be included in the Project Narrative. Refer to Chapter 6 of the Developing a Competitive SAMHSA Grant Application document.
- Department of Defense (DOD): Proposals require a Data Management Plan. Requirements may be different across agencies. The submission of DoD-funded journal articles to the Defense Technical Information Center is now required. A Data Management Plan (DMP) describing the scientific data expected to be created or gathered in the course of a research project must be submitted to DTIC at the start of each research effort.
- U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): Some proposals require a DMP. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) provides a FAQ. Programs that require a DMP are listed on the NIFA website. Guidelines for Data Management Planning provides information about what to include. USDA Open Government Plan.
- U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI): Open Government Plan
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): All proposals require a project work plan which includes a DMP. USGS provides a wealth of information about data management, including a templates and samples.
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): Office of Research & Development (ORD): VA research is intramural only and is conducted via collaborations with academic institutions. Proposals require a Data Management and Access Plan (DMAP), and VA provides FAQs, policies, guidance, and a template. The Office of Research Oversight (ORO) publications page links to checklists and guides. Public Access Plan.
- Smithsonian Institution:
- U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID): There are no requirements for a DMP or DSP. There are requirements for submitting data to the Development Data Library (DDL). Documents include the ADS Chapter 579 USAID Development Data and Special Contract Requirements. Additional information is in the ADS Directory. Public Access Plan. Open Data Policy FAQ.