Data Management Funder Policies

The 2022 Nelson Memo indicates the "public access plans should 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.

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 for extramural researchers from the following funding agencies:

• Administration for Community Living
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Department of Agriculture
• Department of Education
• Department of Energy
• Department of Transportation
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Food and Drug Administration
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• National Institute of Standards and Technology
• National Institutes of Health
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• National Science Foundation
• U.S. Geological Survey

Note that some agencies that were not subject to the 2013 OSTP memorandum also support open data and require a form of DMP, such as the IMLS and the NEH.

Always check with your funder for specific guidance.

Agencies are in the process of updating their data management and sharing policies. Examples are below. Always check with your funder for the most up to date information.

NIH

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. Under the DMS policy, NIH expects investigators and institutions to:

• Plan and budget for the managing and sharing of data
• Submit a DMS plan for review when applying for funding
• Comply with the approved DMS plan

Refer to the following for additional information:

• Data Management & Sharing Policy Overview

  A summary what is expected of investigators and institutions. Learn what is expected of investigators and institutions under the 2003 NIH Data Sharing Policy and the 2023 NIH Data Management & Sharing Policy. Includes specific institute or center requirements.

• Writing a Data Management & Sharing Plan

Refer to this page to learn more about what NIH expects to be addressed in Data Management & Sharing Plans. This is described in more detail in the Requirements section of this guide below.

NASA

Science Mission Directorate (SMD) has released SPD-41a: Scientific Information Policy for the Science Mission Directorate, which indicates peer-reviewed publications are made openly available without embargo and research data are to be shared at the time of publication or the end of the funding award.

• Refer to NASA's Science Information Policy for additional information.

Note that many data management plan templates for federal agencies are available in the DMPTool.

• DMP Tool
  DMPTool is an online tool developed to help researchers generate, manage, store, and share their data management plans. It helps create ready to use plans for individual funding bodies, displays funder requirements, includes funder templates, and provides step-by-step instructions on DMP's as they are being created. Saved DMP's can be edited, updated and reused. Links to ODU-specific information are also available on DMPTool.