This document provides an overview of data management plans (DMPs) including when they are required, how they are evaluated, and future directions. More funders now require DMPs at the application stage or as a living document. DMPs cover details like data formats, metadata, repositories, and licenses. Funders evaluate DMPs for feasibility and may reject proposals with poor plans. Tools are available to help create DMPs, and work is underway to make DMPs more open, reusable, and aligned with FAIR data principles.

1. What you need to know
about DMPs
FOSTER & OpenAIRE webinar, 22nd October 2018
https://www.openaire.eu/open-access-week-2018
@sjDCC
@DMPonline
#ukdcc
Sarah Jones
Digital Curation Centre, Glasgow
sarah.jones@glasgow.ac.uk
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1461601

2. More funders are
asking for DMPs &
requirements are
changing

3. DMPs by European funders
Not comprehensive!

4. When is a DMP needed?
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
• First version of DMP as a deliverable
by month 6 month
• DMP needs to be updated whenever
significant changes arise
• Updates at minimum in time with
periodic evaluation/assessment or
final review
Traditionally application stage but increasingly in-project or ‘living’ documents
NERC (UK)
• Outline DMP at application stage
• Full DMP to be written in conjunction
with designated data centre once
awards are made

5. Onus placed on unis
• EPSRC introduced ground-breaking policy in 2011 which articulated the
responsibility of research organisations to support RDM. Unis should ensure
DMPs are created and maintained by grant holders.
• AHRC updated its policy in 2018 and requires confirmation of 10 statements:
“The institution is able to store the data appropriately during the lifecycle of the grant, the relevant
people have been consulted and this has been considered and agreed”
• Research Council of Norway is just introducing a policy which expects DMPs
to be approved by uni before submission and made openly available online.

6. DMPs to cover data and more
• Wellcome issued new guidelines in 2017 that ask for an
Outputs Management Plan covering:
– datasets generated by your research
– original software created in the course of your research
– new materials you create – like antibodies, cell lines and reagents
– IP such as patents, copyright, design rights and confidential know-how
• The EPSRC has a requirement for Software Management Plans

7. UK unis are
starting to require
DMPs for PhD
progression

8. Start them early…
• Aim to build good practice early on in research career
• Supervisors need to review DMP – seen as way to get more
academics aware of good practice in RDM and sharing
• TU Delft introducing requirement from 2019
• See discussion on research-dataman@jiscmail.ac.uk

9. Funders are
evaluating DMPs
though sanctions
are still rare

10. H2020 review process
• Project Officer looks at DMP as deliverable
• Some may ask project reviewers or external experts to assess
• Assessment made based on internal framework aligned with FAIR template
• Key aspects highlighted in FOSTER training:
• data formats (ideally open or in common use)
• metadata (rich description, use of standards, controlled vocabularies)
• repository (deposit in domain repos if available, or Zenodo / IRs / generic services…)
• PIDs (may not be explicitly mentioned but repository may assign)
• Licenses (preferably open or justified if not)

11. Guidelines for reviewers
AHRC - what the reviewer will be asked to assess
• Does the information in the DMP seem appropriate for the research project being proposed?
Would you expect to see anything different in your view?
• Will the DMP enable the project’s data creation, outputs and storage needs in your opinion?
• Are there any other areas that need more attention?
• Overall – does the plan for data seem feasible, sensible, appropriate and valid?
ESRC (economic and social) DMP guidance for peer-reviewers
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/files/funding/guidance-for-peer-reviewers/data-
management-plan-guidance-for-peer-reviewers
Several assessment rubrics for UK funders in Research Data Network community
collection on Zenodo https://zenodo.org/communities/rdn

12. Consequences…
DMP often considered separately from scientific excellence of the research
• A poor DMP could be a reason for rejecting a proposal, but conditional
awards are more likely
• Projects may be asked to reconsider and update information
• Final grant payment can be withheld if data not offered for deposit (ESRC)
• Anecdotal evidence from UK unis suggests that a poor DMP can mean a
project isn’t funded when results are tied

13. A number of DMP
tools are available

14. DMPonline from the DCC
https://dmponline.dcc.ac.uk
• Templates for UK, Dutch funders,
EC & ERC
• Unis can customise to add
templates, guidance, examples
and see usage stats
• Support plan review
• Users can share (co-author)
plans, make visible within uni and
publish publicly
• Export to a variety of formats
• Run by DCC since 2010

15. Local instances of DMPonline
https://www.dmptuuli.fi https://dmp.opidor.fr
https://dmponline.be
https://dmponline.deic.dk
Based on Open Source
DMPRoadmap codebase
https://github.com/
DMPRoadmap

16. German RDM Organiser
• Funded by DFG
• Different service
model: self-deploy,
not centrally-hosted
• Demo available at:
https://rdmo.aip.de

17. Norwegian tools
https://easydmp.sigma2.no
https://dmp.nsd.no
Joint interface / portal to the two tools is planned

18. OpenAIRE / EUDAT OpenDMP
In beta currently at
https://devel.opendmp.eu
• Shifting from funder template to data profile as a central entity
• Currently proprietary format  to adopt RDA recommendation for machine-readability
• Closed source code at https://gitlab.eudat.eu/dmp/OpenAIRE-EUDAT-DMP-service-pilot

19. Even more tools internationally!
https://activedmps.org

20. Future directions
for DMPs
Open, machine-
actionable, FAIR….

21. 1 2 3RDA Exposing DMPs WG
Developing use cases for
opening up and reusing
information from DMPs
in a number of contexts
www.rd-alliance.org/
groups/exposing-data-
management-plans-wg
DMP Common Standards
Intend to develop a
common information
model and specify access
mechanisms that make
DMPs machine-actionable
www.rd-alliance.org/
groups/dmp-common-
standards-wg
FAIR DMP Working Group
Intend to aggregate ideas
across communities and
national contexts to distil
common principles
www.force11.org/group/
fairdmp
Various fora working on this

22. FAIR Data Management Plans
Template covers FAIR
– Useful to ensure researchers consider
data access & reuse so data are FAIR
– But concepts overlap so can cause
repetition and annoyance if template is
structured according to FAIR
“There is too much overlap between F, A, I, and R.”
“Questions about Metadata appear under 2.1, 2.2 & 2.3”
https://zenodo.org/record/1120245
DMP itself is FAIR
– Publish / deposit in repository
– Assign a PID and metadata
– Follow DMP standards as they emerge
DMP
DMP acting as a hub of info on FAIR
data objects, connecting to the wider
elements of the ecosystem
Rec. from FAIR Data Expert Group
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1285272

23. Should DMPs be Open?
• In many cases they can be and projects are willing
• Naturally projects may not want to share if project is not
funded yet, or research is sensitive e.g. location of
animals under threat of extinction
• Sharing early and openly enables DMP to be reused to
inform service delivery and data to be discovered asap
• Examples can help others learn good practice
ENCOURAGE RESEARCHERS TO MAKE DMPs

24. THANKS FOR LISTENING
More info at:
www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/data-management-plans
www.openaire.eu/what-is-a-data-management-plan-dmp