Your tasks: Data management plan

What template should you use to draft your Data Management Plan (DMP)?

Description

A number of DMP templates are currently available, originating from different funding agencies or institutions. Moreover, there are ongoing efforts to develop templates for machine-actionable DMPs.

Considerations

• Each funding agency could require or recommend a specific DMP template.
• Your institution could require and recommend a DMP template.
• Template could be presented as list of questions in text format or in a machine-actionable format.

Solutions

• Consult the documentation of your funding agency or institution, or contact them to figure out if they require or recommend a DMP template.
• A core DMP template has been provided by Science Europe.
• From the Horizon Europe Programme Guide and the Horizon Europe Annotated Model Grant Agreement you can read DMP guidelines and access the Horizon Europe DMP template.
• Consider adopting the DMP Common Standard model from the Research Data Alliance if you want to produce a machine-actionable DMP template.

What tool should you use to write your DMP?

Description

DMPs can be written offline by using the downloaded template in a text document format. However, a number of web-based DMP tools are currently available that greatly facilitate the process, as they usually contain several DMP templates and provide guidance in interpreting and answering the questions. Some of the tools also allow collaboration on a DMP and track the progress as it is a living document.

Considerations

• Check what DMP tool is recommended or provided by your funding agency.
• Check what DMP tool is recommended or provided by your institute.
• Make sure that the tool you choose includes the DMP template that you need.
• If you want to produce a machine-actionable DMP, you need to make sure the tool you choose allows exporting the DMP in a machine-actionable format (e.g. JSON) rather than only as a PDF document.

Solutions

• Use the tool suggested by your funding agency or institution.
• Choose one of the following online DMP tools (ordered alphabetically):
  • Data Stewardship Wizard (DSW): publicly available open-source tool to collaboratively compose data management plans through smart and customisable questionnaires with FAIRness evaluation.
  • DMP Canvas Generator: this tool, mainly for researchers in Switzerland, is based on a questionnaire following the structure of the SNSF (Swiss National Science Foundation) instructions for DMP submission. Each Swiss High School can develop a specific template/canvas.
  • DMPonline: tool widely used in Europe and many universities or institutes provide a DMPonline instance to researchers.
  • DMPTool: widely used tool and many universities or institutes provide a DMPTool instance to researchers.
  • EasyDMP: tool provided by the pan-European network EUDAT.
• Additional tools for creating a DMP are listed in the table below.

What should you write in a DMP?

Description

A DMP should address a broad range of data management aspects, regardless of template. It is important to be aware of the current best practices in DMPs before starting one.

Considerations

Common topics of a DMP are:

• General information about the project.
• Description of the datasets that will be used and generated.
• Description of metadata, ontologies and data documentation.
• Storage solutions, data security and preservation strategy that will be adopted during and after the project.
• How, when and where data will be shared and published.
• Costs and resources needed for data management.
• Ethical and legal issues, such as privacy, intellectual property and licences.

Solutions

• This website includes best practices and guidelines about the different aspects of research data management that should be covered in a DMP.
• Core requirements for DMP have been described by Science Europe.
• Consider the DMP Common Standard from the Research Data Alliance as a reference data model for organising the different topics.

Related pages

More information

Relevant tools and resources

Daniel Faria

Flora D'Anna