Meeting the NSF Data Management Plan Requirement

Support @ IUPUI

The Data Services Program is available to support researchers in meeting the NSF Data Management Plan requirement. We offer individual consultations for development and implementation of Data Management Plans that utilize available infrastructure at IUPUI. We are also happy to review Data Management Plans and provide feedback prior to submission. Plans can be submitted to us at dataserv@iupui.edu for review. Please send a brief project description (1-2 paragraphs) along with your plan. Allow a minimum of 3 business days for review. For better results, consult us as early in the proposal development process as possible.

The purpose of the NSF Data Management Plan requirement is two-fold: to ensure responsible data stewardship and to encourage data sharing when appropriate. Responsible data stewardship includes data management during the course of the project and preservation when the project is complete. These activities as a whole are described by the term digital curation. Typically, data management activities are completed by scientists, while preservation, is typically handled by institutions or units such as libraries. For more information about digital curation and preservation, see our Data Management & Preservation page or visit the Digital Curation Centre site.

NSF Data Management Plan Requirement

Plans for data management and sharing of the products of research. Proposals must include a supplementary document of no more than two pages labeled “Data Management Plan”. This supplement should describe how the proposal will conform to NSF policy on the dissemination and sharing of research results (see AAG Chapter VI.D.4), and may include:

1. the types of data, samples, physical collections, software, curriculum materials, and other materials to be produced in the course of the project;
2. the standards to be used for data and metadata format and content (where existing standards are absent or deemed inadequate, this should be documented along with any proposed solutions or remedies);
3. policies for access and sharing including provisions for appropriate protection of privacy, confidentiality, security, intellectual property, or other rights or requirements;
4. policies and provisions for re-use, re-distribution, and the production of derivatives; and
5. plans for archiving data, samples, and other research products, and for preservation of access to them.

Data management requirements and plans specific to the Directorate, Office, Division, Program, or other NSF unit, relevant to a proposal are available at: http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/dmp.jsp. If guidance specific to the program is not available, then the requirements established in this section apply. The Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) also have a data archiving policy.

Simultaneously submitted collaborative proposals and proposals that include subawards are a single unified project and should include only one supplemental combined Data Management Plan, regardless of the number of non-lead collaborative proposals or subawards included. Fastlane will not permit submission of a proposal that is missing a Data Management Plan. Proposals for supplementary support to an existing award are not required to include a Data Management Plan.

A valid Data Management Plan may include only the statement that no detailed plan is needed, as long as the statement is accompanied by a clear justification. Proposers who feel that the plan cannot fit within the supplement limit of two pages may use part of the 15-page Project Description for additional data management information. Proposers are advised that the Data Management Plan may not be used to circumvent the 15-page Project Description limitation. The Data Management Plan will be reviewed as an integral part of the proposal, coming under Intellectual Merit or Broader Impacts or both, as appropriate for the scientific community of relevance.

Guides to Data Management Plans & Planning

• Managing & Sharing Data (UK Data Archive): http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/media/2894/managingsharing.pdf 
• Digital Curation Centre Checklist: http://www.dcc.ac.uk/webfm_send/431
  
•  Digital Curation Centre Guidance: http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/how-guides/develop-data-plan
•  ICPSR: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/dmp/index.jsp
• University of Michigan: http://www.lib.umich.edu/research-data-management-and-publishing-support/nsf-data-management-plans
• Data Concervancy/JHU: http://dmp.data.jhu.edu/sites/default/files/Questionnaire.doc
  

Sample Data Management Plans

• sample plans available from DataONE
• sample plans available from the ICPSR (not necessarily in the format specified by the NSF)
• sample plans available from UC San Diego
• sample plans available from the University of New Mexico
  

Tools

• DMPTool, an online tool to help you develop a data management plan that meets federal funding requirements
  
• DMPOnline, an online tool to help you develop a data management plan to meet major UK funders (offered by the Digital Curation Centre)
  
• Scientific workflows, a list of tools provided by DataONE