Data Management Plan

Guidance on how to prepare your project's Data Management Plan.

What is a data management plan?

A Data Management Plan (or "DMP") is a formal document that outlines what you will do with your data during and after a research project. A DMP might describe such things as: types of data expected, file formats, naming conventions, metadata formats, repositories that will be used for data sharing, and plans for long-term archive. In general, we recommend a DMP for all projects. Additionally, some funding agencies require a DMP at the time of project proposal.

NSF's DMP requirements

Proposals submitted to the National Science Foundation (NSF) must include a supplementary document of no more than two pages labeled “Data Management Plan” (DMP). This supplementary document should describe how the proposal will conform to NSF’s policy on the dissemination and sharing of research results. See the full description in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) for full policy implementation.

Investigators working under awards granted by the NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE) have additional conditions to which they must adhere, as described in the OCE Sample and Data Policy.

If your proposal is being submitted to OCE's Biological or Chemical Oceanography Sections or the Office of Polar Programs Antarctic Sciences (ANT) Organisms & Ecosystems Program then your DMP can state that results generated during the proposed research project will be contributed to the BCO-DMO system.

How can BCO-DMO help?

BCO-DMO has developed a Data Management Plan template to assist investigators in writing plans that meet the requirements of the OCE Sample and Data Policy. This template is available online through the DMPTool (https://dmptool.org/)

DMPTool is a free, open-source, online application that helps researchers create data management plans. The DMPTool provides detailed guidance and links to informational resources and it walks researchers through the process of generating comprehensive plans tailored to specific DMP requirements, in this case, the NSF OCE requirements.

How to find and use the BCO-DMO Template on DMPTool

After going to dmptool.org, click on the "Get Started" button and then choose a sign-in option.

These are the three sign-in options for DMPTool.

If you are a researcher from one of the DMPTool participating institutions, you can log in using your institutional credentials. By being affiliated with your institution, you may be presented with institution-specific guidance (displayed as instructions and/or resource web links) to help you complete your plan. If your institution does not participate, you can create your own account with an email address and password.

Once you're logged in, select “Create Plan” from the “My Dashboard” display. Then, follow the wizard to input (1) the title of your research project, (2) your institutional affiliation (optional), and (3) your funder (in this case NSF), and then select the template titled “BCO-DMO NSF OCE: Biological and Chemical Oceanography”.

Click "Create plan" to start a new DMP.

After you choose "NSF" as the funding organization, you can choose the BCO-DMO template.

From there, you will be guided through a series of steps where you can create the plan. On the first tab, you can enter additional "Project details" such as an abstract, start and end dates, and funding numbers.

Screenshot of the DMPTool interface. Note the tabs along the top, which guide you through the process.

The next tab allows you to add collaborators. The "Write Plan" tab is where you enter the bulk of your DMP content. Each section contains questions/prompts and text fields where you enter your answers. Example answers are also provided. Each question may also have additional guidance in the panel on the right side with links to relevant external websites or guidance material.

These are the sections within the "Write Plan" part of the tool.

Each section contains a question or prompt, guidance for how to answer, and an example.

You can save your plan and return to it at any point in the process. Once complete, you can download the completed plan in .pdf, .docx, .txt, and other formats to include in your NSF proposal.

Options for downloading your DMP.

A summary of these instructions, including screenshots, is available in the DMPTool Quick Start Guide. You can also download the template as a .pdf or .docx file from the DMPTool Funder Requirements page and use it to complete your plan in your preferred word processing program.

Additional Resources

NSF OCE Sample and Data Policy NSF Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Public Access DMPTool Quick Start Guide