In August 2022, an updated OSTP memorandum (PDF – Links to an external source and may not be accessible) "Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research" recommended that all federally-funded research and data be openly available without an embargo, regardless of agency. In accordance with the memorandum, "federal agencies should develop new, or update existing, public access plans as soon as possible" (p. 3). The plans must be completed and published no later than December 31, 2024 and go into effect no later than one year after the publication date. The Federal Funder Public Access Plans section of this guide contains additional information.
The 2022 Nelson Memo indicates the "public access plans she outline the policies that federal agencies will use to establish researcher responsibilities on how federally funded scientific data will be managed and shared" (p. 5). Data management plans (or data management and sharing plans) are one way that agencies can establish and track researcher responsibilities.
Data Management Plan (DMP) Requirements
A 2019 report by the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified 19 agencies that were subject to the OSTP 2013 memorandum,16 of which also reported requiring the submission of data management plans. According to this report, the DMP requirement is in effect at the present time for extramural researchers from the following funding agencies:
*Policies have been updated, please see below section.
Updated Policy Information
Currently, only the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has implemented an updated Data Management and Sharing (DMS) policy, effective January 25, 2023. This policy requires a Data Management & Sharing Plan to be submitted with grant proposals. Please refer to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) section of this guide for more detailed information.
NASA has also released an updated policy, SPD-41a: Scientific Information Policy for the Science Mission Directorate, the requirements of which have been incorporated into Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES) 2023 solicitations. Although a review by SPARC indicates that this is not the official response by NASA to the 2022 OSTP memorandum, the update follows the Nelson Memorandum expectations closely. Please refer to the Additional Federal Agency Requirements section of this guide for more detailed information.
DMPTool
Please note that many data management plan templates for federal agencies are available in the DMPTool.
According to the ODU Research Foundation's Annual Report of Sponsored Program Activity - June 30, 2022 (PDF – Links to an external source and may not be accessible) in Schedule 2: Summary of University Activity by Major Funding Source, top federal funding agencies for fiscal year 2022 included the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Refer to the following subsections of this guide for information regarding data management requirements.
Additional Federal Agency Requirements are also shown in a more abbreviated form. These include the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA), the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).