Policy Updates
NIH Data Sharing Policy Change
GET READY! New NIH Policy on Data Management and Sharing – NOT-OD-21-013
The National Institute of Health (NIH) has implemented a new Policy for Data Management and Sharing (DMSP Policy), which will take effect January 25, 2023. This will require NIH-funded researchers to submit a plan outlining how scientific data will be stored, protected, and ultimately shared.
“NIH requires researchers to prospectively plan for how scientific data will be preserved and shared through submission of a Data Management and Sharing Plan (Plan). Upon NIH approval of a Plan, NIH expects researchers and institutions to implement data management and sharing practices as described.”
The DMP policy will have three main requirements:
- Submission of a two-page data management and sharing plan. Prospective grant applicants will need to submit their DMS plan along with their application. There are also additional components to be included. If approved, researchers will have the ability to update and amend their DMS plan as their research plan changes and evolves.
- Compliance with the approved plan. Failure to provide updates in grant reporting may result in enforcement actions, including the addition of special terms and conditions or award termination. Failure to deposit data after the end of the funding period may negatively influence future opportunities.
- Researchers are expected to share their data when appropriate.
The NIH has launched a new website to support to policy.
Additional Resources
- DMPTool – a free tool for generating data management plans based on funder templates, including the new NIH policy (for writing DMS plans)
- re3data – a free tool for looking up research data repositories (for sharing data)
- FAIRsharing – a free tool for looking up data standards, databases, and policies (for writing DMS plans)
- Gonzales S, Carson MB, Holmes K (2022) Ten simple rules for maximizing the recommendations of the NIH data management and sharing plan. PLOS Computational Biology 18(8): e1010397.
- Michener WK. (2015). Ten simple rules for creating a good data management plan. PLOS Computational Biology, 11(10): e1004525.
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Public Access
In February 2013, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OTSP) issued a memo with the purpose of increasing access to federally funded research. This memo required any Federal agency that awards at least $100 million/year in support of research to develop a plan that would increase public access to publications and data resulting from federally-funded projects. In response to this memo, a number of public and private funders have established new requirements for researchers.
Items to Consider in Data Sharing Plan*:
- What data will be shared?
- Who will have access?
- Where will shared data be located?
- When will data be shared?
- How will the data be located and accessed?
Additional information about the requirements for NIH and NSF are available here:
*Source: NIH Data Sharing Plan. Individual funders may have different requirements for data sharing plans.