UCB Libraries

Writing a Data Management Plan

Many funding agencies now require a data management plan to be included in grant applications. Guidelines and requirements vary by funder (and by directorate in the case of NSF grants). Several tools and resources are available to assist with the creation of these plans. Also, see below for a fairly comprehensive list of known policies and guidelines by funding agency.

 

Tools

 

The California Digital Library's DMPTool provides step-by-step online assistance for creating data management plans that meet the requirements of a number of funding agencies.

 

The University of Virginia Library has created NSF Data Management Plan Templates (see list of "NSF Templates" at bottom right).

 

A number of institutions have created guides for writing data management plans, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Minnesota Libraries, and the California Digital Library.

 

Funding Agency Requirements

 

Funding Agency	Policies/Guidelines
Center for Disease Control and Prevention	Releasing and Sharing Data
Department of Defense	Department of Defense Instruction 3200.14, Principles and Operational Parameters of the DoD Scientific and Technical Information Program (pdf) Department of Defense Directive 3200.12, Scientific and Technical Information (STI) Program (STIP) (pdf)
Department of Energy	Department of Energy Standard Research Terms and Conditions (pdf) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility Data Sharing and Distribution Policy Developing Data Management Policy and Guidance Documents for your NARSTO Program or Project (pdf)
Department of Health and Human Services Office of Research Integrity	Guidelines for Responsible Data Management in Scientific Research (pdf)
Department of the Interior	Data Resource Management, Departmental Manual, Series 17, Part 378
Environmental Protection Agency	Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of Information Disseminated by the Environmental Protection Agency Survey of EPA and Other Federal Agency Scientific Data Management Policies and Guidance 2010 (pdf)
Institute of Education Sciences (Department of Education)	Policy Statement on Data Sharing in IES Research Centers
Institute of Museum and Library Services	Specifications for Projects that Develop Digital Products (pdf)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration	NASA Earth Science Data and Information Policy NASA Earth Science Data Rights and Related Issues NASA NASA Guidebook for Proposers Responding to a NASA Research Announcement (NRA) or Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) (pdf)
National Endowment for the Humanities	Data Management Plans for NEH Office of Digital Humanities Proposals and Awards (pdf) General Terms and Conditions for Awards
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Department of Agriculture)	National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Terms and Conditions, Small Business Innovation Research Grants Program (pdf)
National Institutes of Health	Final NIH Statement on Sharing Research Data Data Sharing Regulations/Policy/Guidance Chart for NIH Awards (doc) NIH Data Sharing Policy and Implementation Guidance Frequently Asked Questions on Data Sharing
National Institute of Standards and Technology (Department of Commerce)	National Institute of Standards and Technology Guidelines, Information Quality Standards, and Administration Mechanism
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Department of Commerce)	NAO 212-15: Management of Environmental Data and Information (pdf) NOAA Data Documentation Procedural Directive NOAA Data Management Planning Procedural Directive NOAA Data Sharing Procedural Directive
National Science Foundation	Dissemination and Sharing of Research Results Award & Administration Guide (AAG) Chapter VI.D.4 Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) Chapter II.C.2.j Data Management & Sharing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Biological Sciences Directorate (BIO) Directorate-wide Guidance (pdf) Computer & Information Sciences & Engineering (CISE) Education & Human Resources Directorate (EHR) (pdf) Engineering Directorate (ENG) Directorate-wide Guidance (pdf) Geosciences Directorate (GEO) Directorate-wide Guidance Geological Sciences Directorate (GEO) Division of Earth Sciences (pdf) Geological Sciences Directorate (GEO) Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (pdf) Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate (MPS) Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST) Advice to PIs on Data Management Plans (pdf) Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate (MPS) Division of Chemistry (CHE) Advice to PIs on Data Management Plans (pdf) Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate (MPS) Division of Materials Research (DMR) Advice to PIs on Data Management Plans (pdf) Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate (MPS) Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) Advice to PIs on Data Management Plans (pdf) Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate (MPS) Division of Physics (PHY) Advice to PIs on Data Management Plans (pdf) Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE) Directorate-wide Guidance (pdf) Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE) Data Archiving Policy for the Division of Social and Economic Sciences (SES)
Smithsonian Institution	Smithsonian Environmental Research Data Management Policy Sharing Smithsonian Digital Scientific Research Data from Biology (pdf)
U.S. Geological Survey (Department of the Interior)	USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center Data Policies and Guidance