Purpose of a Data Management Plan

What is a Data Management Plan (DMP) and why should you write one?

A data management plan (DMP) is both a formal document and a practical tool. Both research funders and institutions require research projects to have a DMP. A DMP outlines how data is planned to be handled in the process of a research project, from data collection or re-use, through data processing and analysis, to data preservation and archiving. Depending on the field of research and the needs of the project, the DMP may take different forms. The DMP should be considered a living document and be revised as the project develops.

Writing a DMP will

Establish good data management routines in your project, including creating awareness for ethical, legal and privacy aspects and aid allocation of required resources
Make it easier to have a unified approach to data management within a research group and create awareness around potential data-related issues as early as possible
Help you to create a preservation plan for your data and gather all necessary documentation to archive high-quality FAIR data (openly or with controlled access)
Help you choose the right storage and backup solutions and thereby avoid data loss or violation of information security
Give you an overview of data-related project aspects and thereby complement other project management tools and ease coordination with service providers and other stakeholders

Research data management and DMP requirements

A collection of relevant policies, guidelines, documents, and links.

Institutional DMP requirements

NTNU Policy for Open Science

All research projects must have a Data Management Plan (DMP) fulfilling the requirements of the funding bodies.

UiB Policy for Open Science

All research projects lead by researchers at UiB will have a data management plan.

UiO Policies and guidelines for research data management

Research data shall be provided with a data management plan.

UiT Principles and guidelines for managment for research data

The researcher must set up a Data Management Plan at an early phase of the project and preferably within six months after start-up.

Research data must be as open as possible, as closed as necessary

Research data should be managed and curated to take full advantage of their potential

Decisions concerning archiving and data management must be taken within the research community

The Research Council of Norway

The Research Council of Norway. (2017). Policy for Open Access to Research Data

Research data must be stored/archived in a safe and secure manner

Research data must be made accessible for reuse

Reserach data should be made accessible at an early stage [latest at publication]

Research data must be accompanied by standardized metadata

Research dataprovided with a license for access, reuse, and redistribution

Research data should be made accessible at the lowest possible cost [preferable at no charge]

The management of research data must be described in a data management plan [DMP must be delivered in connection with the revised grant application, final version together with the final report]

The Research Council of Norway. (2020). Policy for Open Science

The Research Council will:

encourage adherence to the FAIR principles for data and metadata resulting from Research Council-funded projects.

require that datasets are made accessible along with their accompanying protocols, methods, models, algorithms, software and source code.

take steps to ensure that direct expenses associated with making data openly accessible according to the FAIR principles are clearly identified in grant applications.

From 2023, Open Science is assessed in grant applications

Horizon Europe

Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (European Commission). (2021). Horizon Europe Open Science Fact Sheet.

Horizon Europe will require immediate open access to all scientific publications and responsible research data management so that data are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable (FAIR). Data will be made ‘as open as possible, but will be allowed to stay as closed as necessary’, safeguarding legitimate interests or constraints.

The criteria for evaluating research proposals under Horizon Europe will take into account the quality and appropriateness of the open science practices in the submitted proposals.

European Commission. (2021). Horizon Europe Annotated Model Grant Agreement

Beneficiaries must submit a DMP as a mandatory project deliverable (normally within 6 months after grant signature). An updated DMP deliverable must then be produced mid-project (for projects longer than twelve months) and at the end of the project (where relevant). [page 376]

The data must be deposited in a trusted repository, ensuring open access via the repository, as soon as possible and within the deadlines set out in the DMP. [page 376]

European Commission. (2021, updated 2023). Horizon Europe Programme Guide: Open Science p.40ff

RDM is mandatory in Horizon Europe for projects generating or reusing data. If you expect to generate or reuse data and/or other research outputs (except for publications), you are required to outline in a maximum of one page how these will be managed. Further details on this are provided in the proposal template in the relevant section on open science. A full data management plan (DMP) is not required at submission stage. [page 43]