NSF Data Management Plan

As of January 18, 2011, all National Science Foundation (NSF) grant applications require a supplementary document of no more than two pages labeled "Data Management Plan".  This supplement should describe how the proposal will conform to NSF policy on the dissemination and sharing of research results, and may include:

• types of data (including samples, physical collections, software);
• metadata standards to be used;
• policies for access and sharing (including provisions for privacy/intellectual property);
• policies and provisions for re-use; and
• plans for archiving and preservation of access.

California Digital Library worked with other organizations to develop a DMPTool to help researchers meet these new requirements.

DMPTool - The Data Management Plan Tool allows researchers to:

• view sample data management plans;
• preview funder requirements;
• view the latest changes to their plans;
• create an editable document for submission to a funding agency, and
• accommodate different versions as funding requirements change. 

Recommended documents from the UCI Office of Research that support submission of the NSF Data Management Plan include:

1. Suggested Elements to Cover in a Data Management Plan
2. Data Management Plan: Template with Suggested Content
3. NSF Data Management Plan

See Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) Chapter II.C.2.j for full implementation information.

Send questions regarding the NSF Data Management Plan to: dtsang@uci.edu.

The UCI Libraries stand ready to assist grantees in identifying the options for sharing research data in an institutional or discipline-specific repository. Contact your subject librarian or the UCI Data Librarian (dtsang@uci.edu).

Policies & Guidelines

Investigators are expected to share with other researchers, at no more than incremental cost and within a reasonable time, the primary data, samples, physical collections and other supporting materials created or gathered in the course of work under NSF grants. Grantees are expected to encourage and facilitate such sharing in the NSF Award & Administration Guide (AAG) Chapter VI.D.4.

Requirements by Various NSF Units

Links to data management requirements and plans relevant to specific Directorates, Offices, Divisions, Programs, or other NSF units, are provided below. If guidance specific to the program is not provided, then the requirements established in Grant Proposal Guide, Chapter II.C.2.j apply. Particulars for the plan will depend on what NSF refers to as the "community of interest" -- essentially the domain or discipline to which the project proposal is relevant.

Please note that if a specific program solicitation provides guidance on preparation of data management plans, such guidance must be followed.

• Engineering Directorate (ENG)
  • Directorate-wide Guidance
• Geological Sciences Directorate (GEO)
  • Division of Earth Sciences
  • Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
  • Division of Ocean Sciences
• Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate (MPS)
  • Division of Astronomical Sciences
  • Division of Chemistry
  • Division of Materials Research
  • Division of Mathematical Sciences
  • Division of Physics
• Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE)
  • Directorate-wide Guidance

Additional Resources

NSF Data Management Plan FAQs
NSF Announcement of DMP requirement
UC Curation Center (UC3)
Association of Research Libraries (ARL) "Unpacking the NSF Requirement"
DataOne Education Modules
MIT Data Management
Cornell University Libraries Guide to Data Management Planning
University of Minnesota Libraries Funding Agency and Data Management Guidelines
ICPSR Guidelines for Effective Data Management Plans
ICPSR Guidance on Preparing a Data Management Plan (Archived Powerpoint slides from Webinar)