What is a Data Management Plan?
Major funding agencies require a Data Management Plan (DMP) as part of a grant proposal. The DMP describes how research data will be managed during the project and made available to others after completion. Each funding agency has their own requirements for what to include, so it is a good idea to check those guidelines before beginning to prepare a DMP. The boxes below include links to some general guides and to major funding agency requirements.
DMPTool
Developed by the California Digital Library (CDL), the Data Management Plan Tool (DMPTool) guides researchers through the process of writing a Data Management Plan to submit with grant applications. DMPTool's templates are tailored to the requirements of major funding agencies.
Guides to writing a DMP
Framework for creating a Data Management Plan
This guide from the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) explains the elements of a Data Management Plan and why they are important.
Grant Reviewer's Guide
This guide, prepared by Johns Hopkins University, shows what some reviewers are looking for when they evaluate data management plans.
Checklist for a Data Management Plan
Guidance and questions to consider when developing data management plans, created by the Data Curation Centre (DCC) in the UK.
Data Management Planning Considerations - Checklist
A list of questions to consider when writing a plan, created by the US Geological Survey.
Funding Agency Requirements
Data management plan requirements can vary by funding agency. Below are links to guidelines from some of the major funding agencies. The California Digital Library (CDL) has also compiled a list of requirements by funding agency at https://dmptool.org/guidance.
Department of Education
National Science Foundation (NSF)
- NSF data sharing requirement (in the award administration guide)
- NSF Data Management Plan requirement (in the proposal guide)
- Public Access to Results of NSF-Funded Research
National Institutes of Health (NIH)