Research Data Management: Data Management and Sharing

 NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) - NSF 24-1: Effective for proposals submitted or due on or after May 20, 2024

NSF Grants.gov Application Guide - May 2024  - A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants.gov 

Preparing NSF Data Management and Sharing Plan

The two-page data management and sharing plan is a required part of a proposal to the U.S. National Science Foundation. It describes how a proposal will follow NSF policy on managing, disseminating and sharing research results.

Directorate and/or division guidance

Links to data management requirements and plans relevant to specific NSF directorates, offices, divisions or programs are provided below. If guidance specific to a directorate, division or program is not provided, follow the general requirements detailed in PAPPG II.D.2(ii):

• Biological Sciences (BIO)
• Engineering (ENG)
• Geosciences (GEO)
• Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS):
  • Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST)
  • Division of Chemistry (CHE)
  • Division of Materials Research (DMR) |   DMR Template (PDF, 205.74 KB)
  • Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS)
  • Division of Physics (PHY)
• Office of Polar Programs (OPP)
• Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE)
• STEM Education (EDU)

Program Specific Guidance 

• Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) Data Management and Sharing Plan Guidance

NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy

The NIH issued the Data Management and Sharing Policy, which took effect in January 2023, to promote the sharing of scientific data.

"Sharing scientific data accelerates biomedical research discovery, enhances research rigor and reproducibility, provides accessibility to high-value datasets, and promotes data reuse for future research studies. Ultimately, the sharing of scientific data expedites the translation of research results into knowledge, products, and procedures to improve human health."

Under the current 2023 Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Policy, investigators and institutions are expected to:

• Plan and budget for data management and sharing
• Submit a DMS plan for review when applying for funding
• Comply with the approved DMS plan

For applications submitted BEFORE January 25, 2023, NIH's 2003 Data Sharing Policy is applied:

• Include a data sharing plan for research proposals seeking $500,000 or more in direct costs in any single year, which addresses how research data will be shared. Alternatively, the investigator is expected to explain why data sharing is not possible.

NIH Genomic Data Sharing Policy 
To comply with the NIH Genomic Data Sharing Policy (released on August 27, 2014), NIH expects institutions and researchers to broadly and responsibly share genomic data generated by NIH funds. 

NIH Genomic Data Sharing Policy Overview

Writing a Data Management & Sharing Plan

Under the 2023 Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Policy, NIH requires all applicants planning to generate scientific data to prepare a DMS Plan that describes how the scientific data will be managed and shared.

Research Covered by the 2023 Data Management & Sharing Policy - information on what constitutes scientific data.  

DMP Tool helps researchers create data management plans (DMPs) that many funding agencies require as part of the grant proposal submission process. The DMP Tool provides a click-through wizard for creating a DMP that complies with funder requirements. It also has direct links to funder websites, help text for answering questions and data management best practices resources.  It is a free, open-source application initiated in 2011 by the University of California Curation Center (UC3) at the California Digital Library, DataONE, Digital Curation Centre (DCC-UK), Smithsonian Institution, UCLA Library, UC San Diego Library, UIUC Library, and University of Virginia Library and then revamped with the funding from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in 2014.

Sign up/Sign in through UH SSO using your UH email address:

Once signed in, you will see DMPs created by UH researchers on your dashboard.