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Data Management Plan

If research data plays a role, then the handling of the data should already be planned at the beginning of a scientific project. As a rule, these considerations are recorded in a Data Management Plan (DMP).

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Quelle: pixabay.com. Free for use under the Pixabay Content License

On this page you will find out:

What is a Data Management Plan?

A Data Management Plan is a document for structuring and describing the handling of research data according to the specific requirements of the project. It describes how the data used will be handled during and after the end of the project. Depending on the project, a DMP can consist of a few lines or a comprehensive document.

Typical questions that should be clarified in a DMP are:

  1. Which existing data should be used in the project? Is this data freely available? Under what conditions can it be used?
  2. Which data and data types will be generated in the course of the project and how? What volume of data can be expected?
  3. How will the data be organized, stored and documented in the project?
  4. What administrative and legal aspects need to be taken into account?
  5. Where and how should the data be archived and made available for subsequent use?
  6. How are the responsibilities and obligations for data management regulated?
  7. What resources are required and what costs will be incurred?

This educational video briefly explains what a DMP is and how researchers can benefit from it1.

Why should I create a DMP?

The preparation of a DMP is increasingly expected by research funding organizations when applying for third-party funding. However, appropriate planning is also recommended independently of this.

With a DMP, you create clear structures for the project and the data used, define responsibilities and make the associated workload clear. A DMP promotes communication between project partners for the open handling of data. Joint definitions ensure the quality of the data and introduce binding rules for its access and use. All of these measures facilitate the traceability and (re)usability of the data. Conclusion: By creating a DMP, you are adhering to good scientific practice!

What can happen to a project team that has not created a DMP is illustrated on the left in the Research Data Scary Taile Backup is key by the Research Data Management competence network at the Thuringian universities (illustration by Sandruschka).

Can you guess the story?

How do I create a DMP?

Data management plans can be created using checklists or templates provided by research institutions or funding organizations. A DMP template helps to structure the plan and ensure that no important aspects are overlooked without having to answer all the questions. The content should be based on the specifications and the specific requirements of the project. All details should be as specific as possible. Consider the DMP as a living document: If changes occur in the handling of the research data during the course of the project, these should also be added to the DMP.

In this educational video, questions from a typical DMP template are answered by way of example2.

Requirements of the funding organizations (as of January 2024)

Whether and by when a data management plan must be submitted depends on the funding organization or the funding conditions of the respective call. In most applications, at least one text section with explanations on the planned handling of the research data is required.

Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF)

The BMBF requires a data management plan for some funding programs. If a DMP is required, this must be submitted directly with the application. The content of the DMP and whether it needs to be updated depends on the respective funding program.

Further information:

Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung (BLE)

The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture also expects the funded research projects to operate a research data management system in accordance with the FAIR Data Principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). A project-related data management plan must therefore be submitted to the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food with the outline submission, which must be specified in the application or project phase.

Further information:

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)

Project proposals submitted to the DFG must contain a section on the handling of research data. This section should contain information on the type, scope and documentation of the data as well as the planned storage and possibilities for subsequent use. The way in which considerations and approaches to handling research data are to be implemented varies depending on the funding program.

Further information:

European Commission – Horizon Europe

The European Commission requires a data management plan for Horizon Europe projects six months after the start of funding if research data plays a role. The application must explain on approximately one page how the handling of the data and other research results is planned with reference to the FAIR Data Principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). An updated DMP must be submitted at the end of the project.

Further information:

VolkswagenStiftung

When applying for data-generating or data-using projects in disciplines without a clear workflow, the submission of a digital concept with a DMP is required. It is recommended to use the DMP as a living document of a digital concept.

Further information:

Additional personnel, technical or infrastructural resources for compliance with a DMP can usually be claimed in third-party funding applications. A presentation by the Research Data Service Team at Leibniz Universität Hannover / TIB (PDF, 509 KB) provides illustrative examples of cost estimates for FDM. The OpenAire RDM cost calculator and the Data Management Costing Tool and Checklist of the UK Data Service are also helpful.

Free DMP tools on the web

There are various tools that facilitate the creation, maintenance and dissemination of data management plans in accordance with research funders’ specifications. The DMP tools presented here enable collaborative work, versioning and the import and export of plans in various file formats.

RDMO NFDI4Ing

In Germany, the Research Data Management Organizer (RDMO) was developed with DFG funding. The RDMO of the DFG consortium NFDI4Ing supports data management planning in engineering projects. The template is the DFG’s question catalog with subject-specific answer options and help texts in German and English. The web application is operated by the ULB Darmstadt.

You can log in to the tool with your TUHH account or your ORCiD ID here: rdmo.nfdi4ing.de

DMPonline

DMPonline helps with the creation, review and sharing of data management plans that comply with the requirements of the European funding bodies. The tool is provided by the Digital Curation Center (DCC) of the University of Edinburgh. It is suitable for data management planning in the EU Horizon Europe program.

You can log in to the tool with your TUHH account here: dmponline.dcc.ac.uk.

Citations

  1. Dominik Schmitz, Daniela Hausen, Ute Trautwein-Bruns. Datenmanagement nach Plan. RWTH Aachen University. 2018. Available under DOI: 10.18154/RWTH-2018-231100. ↩︎
  2. Dominik Schmitz, Daniela Hausen, Ute Trautwein-Bruns. Inhalte eines Datenmanagementplans. RWTH Aachen University. 2018. Available under DOI: 10.18154/RWTH-2018-224185. ↩︎
  3. European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Horizon Europe, open science – Early knowledge and data sharing, and open collaboration, Publications Office of the European Union, 2021, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/18252 ↩︎

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Francesca Schulze


Francesca Schulze
E-Mail: forschungsdaten@tuhh.de
Tel.: +49 40 42878 3311


Detailed information on research data can be found on the information platform forschungsdaten.info.

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