NSF - Data Management Plan
New proposal component
All proposals submitted to Jan 18, 2011 deadlines and beyond will be required to include a data management and sharing plan as a supplemental document.
NOTE: Jan 18 is the submission date for proposals ordinarily due on Jan 15, which this year falls on Saturday. Per NSF policy, proposals due on a weekend roll to the next business day. As Monday is Martin Luther King Day, the applicable due date for Jan 15 competitions is Tuesday Jan 18.
Rationale for change
While NSF and other agencies have long expected researchers to share the outcomes, data and other products of federally supported work, the requirement to include in a proposal a plan that will be considered under NSF’s review criteria, emerged from National Science Board recommendations (2005) and its work considering digital data collections.
The plan needs to address how the proposal will conform to NSF’s long-standing data management and sharing policy, which states in part:
“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. Privileged or confidential information should be released only in a form that protects the privacy of individuals and subjects involved.” (see AAG Chapter VI.D.4)
Plan content - Data Management Plan Template
Unless otherwise specified in a specific program solicitation, or by a directorate’s, office, division (see below: Directorate, Division, & Program Specific Guidance), your plan should address:
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the types of data, samples, physical collections, software, curriculum materials, and other materials to be produced in the course of the project;
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the standards to be used for data and metadata format and content (where existing standards are absent or deemed inadequate, this should be documented along with any proposed solutions or remedies);
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policies for access and sharing including provisions for appropriate protection of privacy, confidentiality, security, intellectual property, or other rights or requirements;
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policies and provisions for re-use, re-distribution, and the production of derivatives; and
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plans for archiving data, samples, and other research products, and for preservation of access to them.
NOTE: A valid Data Management Plan may include only the statement that no detailed plan is needed, as long as the statement is accompanied by a clear justification.
Feedback to NSF requested
As applicable to your field and discipline, it’s likely that your research and collaborative activities already have informal or formal approaches that address the above requirements. However, this new component will require additional time to prepare. Collaborative or proposals with subawards may provide a single unified plan reflecting all components/activities.
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NSF Policy Office has asked that you discuss your proposed plans as well as any questions or concerns you may have with your program officers.
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NSF expects that guidance will evolve over time and with experience.
Data Management Plan costs
Where applicable and reasonable, costs to support dissemination and data management can be included in your budget, however, plans to support long-term costs (beyond the term of the award) should also be considered and discussed with your program officer, chair, dean and campus and other leaders and experts.
Directorate, Division, & Program Specific Guidance:
Directorate for Biological Sciences
Engineering Directorate (ENG)
Geological Sciences Directorate (GEO)
Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE)
Data Archiving Policy for the Division of Social and Economic Sciences (SES)
Data Management & Sharing – NSF’s Frequently Asked Questions