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Writing an NIH Data Management & Sharing Plan

Guidance, considerations, tips, and resources to write a competitive DMS Plan for your NIH proposal

Guidance

DMS Plan Section Instructions

Indicate how compliance with the DMS Plan will be monitored and managed, the frequency of oversight, and by whom (e.g., title, roles). This element refers to oversight by the funded institution, rather than by NIH. The DMS Policy does not create any expectations about who will be responsible for Plan oversight at the institution.

 

Guidance

IU recommends that study personnel, identified by role rather than names, are charged with oversight of data management and sharing activities. In many cases this may be the PI or Co-I, but it may also be delegated to clinical or other data management experts who are on the study team. 

Sample Response

Our project team will break down data management tasks as assigned to the following roles:

PI: data analysis, data reporting, data management training for study personnel

Research Technicians: data collection, data entry, record-keeping, metadata creation

Post-doc: data screening & processing, data analysis, prepare datasets for sharing, data deposit and/or dissemination, data reporting

Research Scientist: data analysis, data visualization, data management training for study personnel

Research Coordinator: record-keeping, metadata creation, prepare datasets for sharing

Library Support for Sharing Data

IU Libraries provide support for researchers seeking NIH-funding. We are actively monitoring updates and guidance available from the NIH, as well as the IU Research Data Management Plan Working Group. We will continue to update the information here to reflect those changes. Our support includes:

  • data management planning
  • selecting the appropriate repository(ies) for sharing data
  • planning for documentation that will enable data sharing, and
  • some aspects of preparing data for deposit
  • support decision-making related to data management and sharing that occurs during project start-up and active conduct of research

We will also connect you with other experts across IU who can help you submit the best DMS Plan possible. We are not able to write DMS Plans on behalf of research teams of which we are not members.

To request a consultation, contact the data librarian for your campus or school:

  • Heather Coates, IUPUI - hcoates@iu.edu 
  • Levi Dolan, Indiana University School of Medicine - dolanl@iu.edu
  • Ethan Fridmanski, Indiana University Bloomington - ejfridma@iu.edu