Research Data Sharing

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.

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.

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.

Regardless of funder, these are the five major questions any DMS Plan should answer (adapted from the NSF General Guidelines for data management plans)

1. What type of data will be produced?
2. How will it be organized and what standards will be used for documentation and metadata?
3. What steps will be taken to protect privacy, security, confidentiality, intellectual property or other rights?
4. If you allow others to reuse your data, how, where and when will the data be accessed and shared?
5. Where will the data be archived and preserved and for how long?

1. Learn about the general aspects of DMPs - Understand the kind of information funders usually ask for.
2. Check the requirements for your funder - Always check the specific grant solicitation you're applying to for any requirements beyond the standard ones for that funder
3. Write the DMS Plan - Prepare your DMS Plan using the required 2026 Pilot DMS Plan Format Page (DOCX, 37 KB)
4. Get Feedback