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NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy

UMass Chan guidance and resources for the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy and writing NIH Data Management and Sharing Plans

Data Management and Sharing Plans made easy with DMPTool

DMPTool

Sign in with your UMass Chan username and password to create your Data Management and Sharing Plan with DMPTool and benefit from the NIH and UMass Chan guidance built into the step-by-step form. By selecting “NIH” as the primary funding organization, you will automatically be using the template matching the new requirements. You can also share your plans with collaborators and request a review of your DMS Plan within the platform. 

New NIH Data Management and Sharing Plan Templates Available in DMPTool

In DMPTool, there are now three templates for National Institutes of Health (NIH) data management and sharing (DMS) plans:

  • “NIH-Default DMSP”, comes directly from the NIH
  • [New] NIH-FDP Pilot Template Alpha and NIH-FDP Pilot Template Bravo, are part of the Federal Demonstration Partnership’s (FDP) Data Management and Sharing Plan Pilot

Any three of the templates can be used to submit a DMS plan to accompany an NIH grant and the Library Research Data Services Team is happy to review DMS plans created using any of the templates.

For more information about the FDP Data Management and Sharing Plan Pilot, please visit the Pilot’s webpage. If you use a FDP Pilot template, the FDP would appreciate your feedback which you can submit using their feedback survey.

If you have any questions, please contact the Library Research Data Services Team, datalib@umassmed.edu.

DMPTool create data management plan screen. National Institutes of Health selected as primary funder and three DMP templates listed: NIH-Default DMSP, NIH-FDP Pilot Template Alpha, NIH-FDP Pilot Template Bravo.

Overview of a DMS Plan

The NIH issued supplemental guidance outlining six required Elements of an NIH Data Management and Sharing Plan. These elements should be addressed in a supplemental document of around two pages.

Explore the information required in each element by clicking on the panels below:

Summarize the scientific data necessary to validate your findings.
Identify tools, software, and/or code necessary to access or manipulate the shared data.
List the standards that will be used for sharing the data and metadata.
  • Metadata schemas
  • Standard Terminologies (Controlled Vocabulary and Ontologies)
  • Content/Encoding Standards
  • Common Data Elements
  • Identifiers (PIDs)

Search for standards related to your research on FAIRsharing.org.

Provide details and timelines for sharing and preserving data for long term usability.
  • a. If a particular metadata standard is required, list in the standards section.
  • b. A specific NIH repository may be required in the funding opportunity announcement.
 
  • a. Data will be made available when the work is published or the award/support period ends (whichever comes first) OR
  • b. Data will be made available earlier.
Describe how sharing will be maximized while respecting restrictions.
  • Legal
  • Technical
  • Ethical
Identify who will be responsible for plan compliance and oversight.

For more information:

DMS Plan Examples:

Request a Review of Your Data Management and Sharing Plan

You can request a review of your NIH data management and sharing plan by one of our data librarians through DMPTool under the "Request feedback" tab for your data management plan or email Library Research Data Services at datalib@umassmed.edu. A data librarian will respond to your request within 48 hours and complete the review within 10 business days. Expedited reviews will be provided on a case-by-case basis subject to librarian availability.

Acknowledgements

Researcher Checklist
Badger, K., Calkins, H., Carr Jones, L., Grynoch, T., Koshoffer, A., LaPreze, D., May, A., Nieman, C., Otsuji, R., Phegley, L., & Ye, H. (2022). Data management and sharing plan checklist for researchers. NIH DMSP Guidance Working Group. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/UADXR