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The National Institutes for Health (NIH) has issued a new Data Management and Sharing Policy (DMSP) to promote the sharing of scientific data. It goes into effect on January 25, 2023.

The NIH DMSP applies to all research, funded or conducted in whole or in part by NIH, that results in the generation of scientific data, including:

  • Research Projects​
  • Some Career Development Awards (Ks)​
  • Small Business SBIR/STTR ​
  • Research Centers

NIH DMSP Workshop

On November 10, 2022, representatives from UH Division of Research, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Data Science Institute, and UH Libraries hosted a virtual workshop on the NIH DMSP.  

The workshop provided an overview of the DMSP, outlined changes to the NIH submission and review process, and reviewed campus resources that can help researchers comply with the NIH DMSP during the planning and archiving, sharing, and preservation stages of their grant award.   

You can view the workshop slides here via Cougar ROAR. 

NIH expects researchers to maximize the appropriate sharing of scientific data, taking into account factors such as legal, ethical, or technical issues that may limit the extent of data sharing and preservation.​

Elements to Include in the DSM Plan

The new DMSP articulates six categories of information that researchers should include in their DSM Plan.  

  • Data type: briefly describe the scientific data to be managed and shared ​
  • Related tools, software and/or code: indicate tools that are needed to access or manipulate the data to support replication or reuse ​
  • Standards: describe any standards that will be applied to the data and associated metadata (e.g. formats, dictionaries, identifiers, or other documentation) ​
  • Data Preservation, Access, and Associated Timelines: give plans and timelines for data preservation and access ​
  • Access, distribution, or reuse considerations: describe any applicable factors affecting subsequent access, distribution, or reuse of the data (e.g. informed consent expectations) ​
  • Oversight of data management and sharing: indicate how compliance with the Plan will be monitored and managed

Awardees will be expected to carry out data management and sharing as outlined in the approved DMS plan and as a term and condition of the award.  

Researchers are encouraged to use DMPTool to develop their DSMP-compliant plan.  

Budgeting for DSMP-related Expenses

As outlined in the NIH Guide Notice Supplemental Policy Information: Allowable Costs for Data Management and Sharing, NIH recognizes that making data accessible and reusable for other researchers may incur costs.​

For that reason, investigators may request funds toward data management and sharing in the budget and budget justification sections of their applications.​

The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine has developed a resource "Forecasting Costs for Preserving, Archiving, and Promoting Access to Biomedical Data" that may be useful when budgeting for data management and sharing costs.

UH Libraries provides access to resources to assist with data management planning and data sharing, archiving, and preservation.  

Data Management Planning

DMPTool (login with Cougarnet ID) contains NIH DSMP-compliant templates that researchers can use to meet new data management and sharing  planning requirements. UH Libraries offers additional information on DMPTool here.

Data Sharing, Archiving, and Preservation

The UH Dataverse Repository, part of Cougar ROAR (login with Cougarnet ID) is a NIH DSMP-compliant repository that researchers can use to meet data sharing, archiving, and preservation requirements.  

More information on UH Dataverse Repository, including policies and storage limits, can be found here.  

Learn how to submit your data with the UH Dataverse Repository Quick Start Guide.

NIH has released numerous resources that provide recommended practices and strategies to assist researchers in complying with the DSMP: