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Division of Sponsored Programs > Award Management > NIH Data Management and Sharing

NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy Requirements and Resources

On this page:

NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy
Faculty Resources
Develop a Data Management and Sharing Plan
Changes to the DMS Plan
Resources

NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy

As proper data management and sharing are critical research practices to accelerate scientific advancement and support scientific integrity, the NIH issued a Data Management and Sharing Policy (DMS Policy) that has significant impacts for NIH proposals. Its effective date is for proposals submitted with due dates on or after January 25th, 2023.

Does this Policy Apply to My Proposed Research?

Determine if the proposed research is subject to the DMS policy. Carefully review the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for any specific institute or center requirements.

This DMS Policy applies to all NIH funded research which results in the generation of scientific data, including:

The DMS Policy does not apply to research and other activities that do not generate scientific data, including:

Faculty Resources

UF Research offers resources to assist with creation of a data management plan and selection of a repository.

UF Libraries hosts a variety of Research Data Management resources that may help with developing a data management plan:

In addition, UF is a partner institution of the DMPTool which can be used to create ready-to-use data management plans for specific funding agencies.

Develop a Data Management and Sharing Plan

Proposals covered by the DMS Policy must include a DMS Plan in the proposal. Attach the DMS Plan in the Other Plans section as part of your NIH applications. DMS Plans will be collected in a field called “Other Plans” on the PHS 398 Research Plan and Career Development Award forms. See Writing a DMS Plan for the details on what to include in a Plan.

  • DMS Plans are recommended to be two pages or less in length.
  • The Plan should cover six recommended elements.
  • NIH has developed a fillable DMS Plan format page that aligns with recommended elements of a DMS Plan.
  • Considerations for specialized datasets, data privacy, and human subjects protections:
    • Applications subject to both the DMS Policy and the Genomic Data Sharing (GDS) Policy will submit a single Plan. See NOT-OD-22-198 for details and other considerations
    • Human subjects participant data protections: Informed Consent, De-identification, Certificate of Confidentiality
    • Any restrictions on sharing: Regulatory restrictions (e.g., HIPAA, GDPR), Tribal laws, policies and sovereignty, ethical considerations.

Identify Methods/Approaches and Repositories

Proposal Budget Costs

Proposal budgets should include estimated funds needed for data management and sharing activities. These should include all allowable costs for DMS for all data types.

Allowable costs must be incurred during the period of performance even for scientific data and metadata preserved and shared beyond the award period. 

Allowable costs may include:

  • Curating data and developing supporting documentation, including formatting data according to accepted community standards; de-identifying data; preparing metadata to foster discoverability, interpretation, and reuse; and formatting data for transmission to and storage at a selected repository for long-term preservation and access.
  • Local data management considerations, such as unique and specialized information infrastructure necessary to provide local management and preservation (e.g., before deposit into an established repository).
  • Preserving and sharing data through established repositories, including costs associated with deposit of data into an established repository(s).

Infrastructure costs that are included in institutional overhead or costs associated with the routine conduct of research are not allowable.

For assistance with the proposal budgeting process, please review the DMS section of DSP’s Other Direct Costs Budgeting webpage, or contact the DSP Preaward Team at ufproposals@ufl.edu.

When are Data Expected to be Shared?

Data are expected to be shared no later than time of publication of findings or the end of an award, whichever is earlier.

Changes to the DMS Plan

The NIH encourages data management and sharing practices to be consistent with the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data principles and reflective of practices within specific research communities. The DMS Plan should reflect the proposed approach to data management and sharing at the time it is prepared and be updated during the award/ support period to reflect any changes in the management and sharing of scientific data.

Pre-Award Changes to DMS Plans

  • If NIH requires changes, applicants will be notified by the NIH GMS during the Just-in-Time (JIT) process.
  • Revisions should be submitted as part of the JIT response (e.g. via DSP to Grants Management Specialist (GMS) or in eRA Commons).
  • DSP strongly suggests any changes required be compared against the original budget and if additional funds are needed to accomplish the revised plan, a revised budget is also submitted.

Post-Award Changes to DMS Plans

When PIs identify a need to change their DMS Plan, updates should be submitted to DSP as a formal request through a UFIRST Award Modification. As of October 1, 2024, requests must include:

  • Effective date of the requested changes;
  • Justification document explaining the rationale and justification for changes;
  • Updated budget document, if the budget is affected by the revised plan;
  • Proposed revised DMS Plan document.

DSP will review and facilitate the submission process to the NIH to request approval for changing the plan. NIH also expects DMS Plan changes to be addressed in the Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPR). For assistance with your RPPR, see Progress Reports.

Resources

Last updated 1/22/25