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NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy : Writing a DMSP: The new data management and sharing plan format

All NIH grant proposals submitted on January 25, 2023 and beyond will be required to include a data management and sharing plan.

Basic plan outline

In a supplemental document of two pages or less, address the following six sections:

  1. Data Type: Briefly describe the scientific data to be managed, preserved, and shared, including:

  2. Related Tools, Software and/or Code: An indication of whether specialized tools will be needed to access or manipulate the shared scientific data to support replication or reuse, and name(s) of the needed tool(s) and software.
  3. Standards: An indication of what standards will be applied to the scientific data and associated metadata (i.e., data formats, data dictionaries, data identifiers, definitions, unique identifiers, and other data documentation). If the discipline of the research does not have a shared approach to data structures, the Plan may indicate that no consensus data standards exist for this scientific data and metadata.

  4. Data Preservation, Access, and Associated Timelines: Plans and timelines for data preservation and access, including (a) specific repository or repositories where data will be shared (see tab on the left on repositories); what persistent identifier or other indexing tool will be provided to find and access the data; and when data will become available and for how long it will stay available.

  5. Access, Distribution, or Reuse Considerations: Any limits that will be placed on access, and why the limits are expected to be placed.
  6. Oversight of Data Management and Sharing: Indicate how and on what schedule the DMS Plan will be monitored and managed, and by whom.

Prefer a walk-through format? Try DMPtool

OSU is a participating institution with DMPtool. If you have never used DMP Tool before, choose Option 1 and search for OSU.

You can find the new DMS Plan format listed as "NIH DMSP (2023- forthcoming)" when you select the funder during the process of creating a new plan. This is a great way to practice the new planning process and format.