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School of Medicine & Dentistry / Office of Research IT / Data Management / NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy (2023)
 

NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy (2023)

This page informs the UR community about the new NIH policy, linking to appropriate information and resources whenever possible. It will be updated as new information becomes available so please check back frequently.

What's new about the 2023 NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy?

Previously, the NIH only required grants with $500,000 per year or more in direct costs to provide a brief explanation of how and when data resulting from the grant would be shared.

The 2023 policy is entirely new. Beginning in 2023, ALL grant applications or renewals that generate Scientific Data must now include a robust and detailed plan for how you will manage and share data during the entire funded period. This includes information on data storage, access policies/procedures, preservation, metadata standards, distribution approaches, and more.  You must provide this information in a data management and sharing plan (DMSP). The DMSP is similar to what other funders call a data management plan (DMP).

The DMSP will be assessed by NIH Program Staff (though peer reviewers will be able to comment on the proposed data management budget). The Institute, Center, or Office (ICO)-approved plan becomes a Term and Condition of the Notice of Award.

What do I need to do?

A DMSP must be submitted as part of the funding application for all new and competing proposals/renewals that generate Scientific Data for January 25, 2023, and subsequent receipt dates. The term Scientific Data is defined in the policy as "The recorded factual material commonly accepted in the scientific community as of sufficient quality to validate and replicate research findings, regardless of whether the data are used to support scholarly publications. Scientific data do not include laboratory notebooks, preliminary analyses, completed case report forms, drafts of scientific papers, plans for future research, peer reviews, communications with colleagues, or physical objects, such as laboratory specimens."

What do I need to submit as a part of my funding proposal?

If you plan to generate scientific data, you must submit a Data Management and Sharing Plan to the funding NIH ICO as part of the Budget Justification section of your application for extramural awards. 

Your plan should be two pages or fewer and must include:

  • Data Type
  • Related Tools, Software and/or Code
  • Standards
  • Data Preservation, Access, and Associated Timelines
  • Access, Distribution, or Reuse Considerations
  • Oversight of Data Management and Sharing.

See Supplemental Information to the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing: Elements of an NIH Data Management and Sharing Plan for a detailed description of these Elements.

 

For additional resources, refer to How to Get Started Writing a DMP and see DMP examples on the DMP examples page.

 

DMPToolTo draft the plan itself, we recommend the DMPTool (log in with NetID) using the NIH 2023 template. 

 

If you are including institutional services and tools in the DMSP, be sure to budget for any associated costs. See the following section for what kinds of services and tools are available. 

Any costs related to complying with the policy must be paid for up-front during the performance period. For example, costs for long-term data preservation must be budgeted for in the proposal and paid before the end of the grant. You may find the NIHM Data Archive (NDA) cost estimation worksheet useful.