A data management plan (DMP) is a written document that describes the data you expect to acquire or generate during the course of a research project, how you will manage, describe, analyze, and store those data, and what mechanisms you will use at the end of your project to share and preserve your data. You may have already considered some or all of these issues with regard to your research project, but writing them down helps you formalize the process, identify weaknesses in your plan, and provide you with a record of what you intend to do. Data management is best addressed in the early stages of a research project, but it is never too late to develop a data management plan.
Most funding agencies require a DMP at submission. If you are submitting to a funder that has this requirement, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) or the National Institutes of Health (NIH) please explore the links below for guidance.
A DMP is a living document. Research is all about discovery, and the process of doing research sometimes requires you to shift gears and revise your intended path. Your DMP is a living document that you may need to alter as the course of your research changes. Remember that any time your research plans change, you should review your DMP to make sure that it still meets your needs.
Proposals must include a document of no more than two pages uploaded under "Data Management Plan" in the supplementary documentation section of FastLane. This supplementary document should describe how the proposal will conform to NSF policy on the dissemination and sharing of research results (see Chapter XI.D.4), and may include:
Data management requirements and plans specific to the Directorate, Office, Division, Program, or other NSF unit, relevant to a proposal are available. If guidance specific to the program is not available, then the requirements established in this section apply.
NIH has drafted a new (November 2019) Policy for Data Management and Sharing that reinforces NIH's commitment to making the results and ouputs of the research that it funds and conducts available to the public.
The Policy would require:
Detailed information can be found in the DRAFT NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing and Supplemental DRAFT Guidance: Elements of a NIH Data Management and Sharing Plan.