124 · Representative Documents: Data Management Plan Tools
INDIANA UNIVERSITY
Indiana University Guidance on NSF Data Management Plans
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/secure/defiles/NSF_DMP_Boilerplate_IUB-IUPUI_Fall_2012.doc
Indiana University Guidance on NSF Data Management Plans
September 28, 2012
Effective for proposals submitted on or after January 18, 2011, the National Science Foundation (NSF)
requires the inclusion of a supplementary document of no more than two pages entitled “Data
Management Plan” (DMP). The plan should describe how the proposal will conform to NSF policy on the
dissemination and sharing of research results (see AAG Chapter VI.D.4 [1]).
Following is a guide to writing your DMP, consisting of the following sections:
• Section 1 gives a template and consideration points for completing a data management plan.
• Section 2 is a short set of boilerplate language for your use when composing your DMP.
• Because no single template works for every discipline and community, Section 3 lists additional
resources that could be helpful in figuring out what works for your needs.
• Section 4 is explains the Indiana University (IU) resources that are available for your use. It is
useful if you want to use UITS storage and one of the institutional repositories (IUScholarWorks
or IUPUIDataWorks) as your data preservation solution.
This document is prepared with fonts and margins consistent with the NSF Grant Program Guide, so
researchers may cut and paste directly from this document when preparing data management plans.
This document is derived, in part, from a report by a blue-ribbon panel of IU experts led by Professor Beth
Plale, of the School of Informatics and Computing (SOIC). As such, this guidance reflects the combined
effort and consensus thinking of IU’s top experts in data management and reflects IU guidance for NSF
Data Management plans endorsed by the Office of the Vice President for Research and offered in a
manner that is consistent with the Indiana University Information Technology Strategic Plan [6].
1. Data Management Plan Template
A data management plan meeting the general NSF requirement can be organized by the below template,
though not all items will be relevant for all disciplines, Directorates, or solicitations. See [2] for discipline
specific advice. It may be helpful to begin your DMP with a few sentences describing the research project
in general, to provide general context for the detailed information in each section. In each section, you
should describe your reasoning, particularly if you are deviating from common practice or standards used
in your discipline or community of practice. Identifying a particular person or role to carry out these
activities is also vital.
1. Describe the types of data and products that will be generated in the research such as samples,
physical collections, software, and curriculum materials. Characterize the data with details such as
the types of data (text, numeric, images, audio, video, etc.) and an approximate number and size of
files to be generated or used. Provide a brief description of the data collection process, including
instruments or tools, sites, and process for getting data into a secure location. In addition, briefly
describe the storage/backup plan and the IU cyberinfrastructure to be used.
2. Describe the format in which the data, metadata, and other products are stored. Describe the
formats in which the data will be stored, preferably using a common or open file format standard.
Include a description of the metadata that will make the actual data products useful to the general
researcher. Some examples of discipline-based metadata standards include the NanoParticle
Ontology [3] and Ecology Metadata Language (EML) [4].
3. Describe the policies for general access to data including provisions for appropriate protection of
privacy, confidentiality, security, intellectual property, or other rights or requirements. “Access to data”
refers to data made accessible without explicit request from the interested party. Policies for access
and reuse should clearly when, how, and to whom the data will be made available. Describe the
policies and mechanisms for access to the data and other products, including specific provisions
(described in the next section) for appropriate protection of privacy, confidentiality, security,
INDIANA UNIVERSITY
Indiana University Guidance on NSF Data Management Plans
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/secure/defiles/NSF_DMP_Boilerplate_IUB-IUPUI_Fall_2012.doc
Indiana University Guidance on NSF Data Management Plans
September 28, 2012
Effective for proposals submitted on or after January 18, 2011, the National Science Foundation (NSF)
requires the inclusion of a supplementary document of no more than two pages entitled “Data
Management Plan” (DMP). The plan should describe how the proposal will conform to NSF policy on the
dissemination and sharing of research results (see AAG Chapter VI.D.4 [1]).
Following is a guide to writing your DMP, consisting of the following sections:
• Section 1 gives a template and consideration points for completing a data management plan.
• Section 2 is a short set of boilerplate language for your use when composing your DMP.
• Because no single template works for every discipline and community, Section 3 lists additional
resources that could be helpful in figuring out what works for your needs.
• Section 4 is explains the Indiana University (IU) resources that are available for your use. It is
useful if you want to use UITS storage and one of the institutional repositories (IUScholarWorks
or IUPUIDataWorks) as your data preservation solution.
This document is prepared with fonts and margins consistent with the NSF Grant Program Guide, so
researchers may cut and paste directly from this document when preparing data management plans.
This document is derived, in part, from a report by a blue-ribbon panel of IU experts led by Professor Beth
Plale, of the School of Informatics and Computing (SOIC). As such, this guidance reflects the combined
effort and consensus thinking of IU’s top experts in data management and reflects IU guidance for NSF
Data Management plans endorsed by the Office of the Vice President for Research and offered in a
manner that is consistent with the Indiana University Information Technology Strategic Plan [6].
1. Data Management Plan Template
A data management plan meeting the general NSF requirement can be organized by the below template,
though not all items will be relevant for all disciplines, Directorates, or solicitations. See [2] for discipline
specific advice. It may be helpful to begin your DMP with a few sentences describing the research project
in general, to provide general context for the detailed information in each section. In each section, you
should describe your reasoning, particularly if you are deviating from common practice or standards used
in your discipline or community of practice. Identifying a particular person or role to carry out these
activities is also vital.
1. Describe the types of data and products that will be generated in the research such as samples,
physical collections, software, and curriculum materials. Characterize the data with details such as
the types of data (text, numeric, images, audio, video, etc.) and an approximate number and size of
files to be generated or used. Provide a brief description of the data collection process, including
instruments or tools, sites, and process for getting data into a secure location. In addition, briefly
describe the storage/backup plan and the IU cyberinfrastructure to be used.
2. Describe the format in which the data, metadata, and other products are stored. Describe the
formats in which the data will be stored, preferably using a common or open file format standard.
Include a description of the metadata that will make the actual data products useful to the general
researcher. Some examples of discipline-based metadata standards include the NanoParticle
Ontology [3] and Ecology Metadata Language (EML) [4].
3. Describe the policies for general access to data including provisions for appropriate protection of
privacy, confidentiality, security, intellectual property, or other rights or requirements. “Access to data”
refers to data made accessible without explicit request from the interested party. Policies for access
and reuse should clearly when, how, and to whom the data will be made available. Describe the
policies and mechanisms for access to the data and other products, including specific provisions
(described in the next section) for appropriate protection of privacy, confidentiality, security,
