Data Management Guide: 2023 NIH DMSP
Overview
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued its Final NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing Plans (DMSP) to promote the management and sharing of scientific data generated from NIH-funded research. Previously, the NIH only required grants with $500,000 per year or more in direct costs to provide a brief explanation of how and when data resulting from the grant would be shared.
Beginning January 25, 2023, all grant applications or renewals that generate Scientific Data must include a data management and sharing plan (DMSP) for managing and sharing data during the entire funded period. The DMSP is similar to what other funders call a data management plan (DMP).
Infographic Flowchart
Resources
Annotated Example DMS Plan
Resource created by the "Working Group on NIH DMSP Guidance", a group of librarians and other research support professionals seeking to provide guidance on the upcoming policy. More resources, including a glossary and researcher checklists, can be found at https://osf.io/uadxr/
Example DMS Plans from NIH
Examples of DMSPs provided by the NIH.
DMPTool
The DMPTool provides templates for drafting data management plans for a variety of funding agencies, including the new NIH DMSP. Feedback on drafts may be requested through the platform.
DMSP/DMP reviews can also be requested through webform or by emailing our data librarian directly.
FAQs
Who is affected by this policy?
All NIH supported research that results in the generation of scientific data is covered by this policy. For more information, see Research Covered Under the Data Management & Sharing Policy.
How will the DMSP be evaluated?
The Data Management and Sharing Plan will not affect the priority score of your application. Reviewers will not factor the proposed data sharing plan into the determination of scientific merit or priority score. Program staff will oversee the data sharing policy, and assess the appropriateness and adequacy of the plan, and if there are concerns, these will need to be resolved prior to making any award.
Can updates be made to submitted plans?
The Data Management and Sharing Plan is a living document that can be updated through the award period, with updates requiring NIH staff approval.
What is scientific data?
"The recorded factual material commonly accepted in the scientific community as of sufficient quality to validate and replicate research findings, regardless of whether the data are used to support scholarly publications. Scientific data do not include laboratory notebooks, preliminary analyses, completed case report forms, drafts of scientific papers, plans for future research, peer reviews, communications with colleagues, or physical objects, such as laboratory specimens.” For more information, please see the NIH's Final NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing page.
When does data need to be shared?
You will need to share your data when you publish your work or before your performance period ends, whichever comes first. Data should be made accessible as soon as possible. You can also use relevant requirements and expectations such as data repository policies, award record retention requirements, or journal policies, to decide when to share your data sets.
Where can data be shared?
NIH recommends sharing datasets through established data repositories to improve the FAIRness (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable) of the data, in the following order of preference: repository specified by funding ICO, disciplinary repository where similar data has been archived, followed by generalist repository. Please see NIH's Selecting a Repository page for more information.
What if data can't be shared?
"NIH expects that in drafting Plans, researchers will maximize the appropriate sharing of scientific data". The policy also acknowledges that there are legal, ethical, or technical factors that may limit data sharing. These factors should be discussed in the Data Management and Sharing Plan.
What can you budget for?
Direct costs that address data management and sharing needs related to your project can be included in your budget request. Costs must be incurred during the performance period and must be specifically related to the project rather than institutional costs applying to multiple projects. For examples of allowable and unallowable costs, please see NIH's Budgeting for Data Management & Sharing page.
For more Frequently Asked Questions about the upcoming policy, please visit the NIH 2023 Data Management & Sharing Policy FAQs page.