Data Management Plan

A data management plan (DMP) is a living document that describes how research data will be collected, organised, stored, secured, backed-up, preserved, and wherever possible, shared. It provides a roadmap for your data which you can refer to throughout your project.

As set out in the Research Data Management Policy, every research project, whether funded or not, must produce a DMP before collecting data. It is also a requirement for a DMP to be included with your ethics application.

A DMP should be created at the beginning of a project to enable good research data management practices. All members of a research project should be aware of, and abide by, the DMP.

Your plan is a practical resource which should go into considerable detail and be kept up to date throughout your project. Imagine a key member of your team eaves and someone else must take over their data management responsibilities. What exactly would they need to know?

Benefits of a DMP

An effective DMP will help you to:

Comply with ethical, legal and funder requirements, as well as the University’s RDM Policy.
Estimate the resources required to manage, document, share and preserve your research data.
Think critically about which data can be shared, what might limit or prohibit data sharing, and whether any steps can be taken to remove such limitations.

How to write a DMP

We've developed detailed guidance to support researchers at the University with each section of their DMP:

DMPonline

The Digital Curation Centre (DCC) provide a free tool, DMPonline, to help researchers create a Data Management Plan. DMPonline offers prompts and guidance to help you write detailed answers for each component of your data management plan. Plans are customisable, can be exported in a variety of formats, and can easily be shared with collaborators.

Please see the DMPonline guide for more detailed information on how to use the tool. The DCC have also created a helpful Data Management Plan checklist and a guide to data management and sharing.

Template DMPs

The University recommends the use of the DCC template plan for unfunded research projects. This is a standard, comprehensive template which covers all important components of research data management.

Many research funders have their own specific templates and guidance which you should follow when drafting your DMP. You can find a helpful list of funder templates on the funder requirements page of DMPonline.

Example data management plans

You can refer to existing DMPs to help you consider the key RDM questions in your own research project.

There are several resources available which you can refer to:

Data Curation Centre: Example DMPs and guidance
RIO Journal: peer reviewed DMPs
DMPonline: DMPs shared by authors

Funding applications

Data management costs

Some research funders allow for the inclusion of data management costs in funding applications, provided they are justifiable and incurred before the end of your project. Example costs associated include additional expenses for storing data, acquiring specialist software, transcribing or anonymising datasets, or employing a dedicated data steward. Costs can also be incurred when sharing large datasets in data repositories.

Calculating data management costs can be difficult, however these tools are available to help you arrive at a reasonable estimate:

Ethics applications

Your ethics application must be supported by a comprehensive data management plan. If no DMP is present then your application will be returned and you will be asked to include one.

Particular attention should be paid to how you'll handle sensitive data. Legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which govern the processing of personal data, should be considered when drafting your DMP.

More information is available in the Ethics and Legal Compliance guidance.

The Research Governance & Ethics team have put together some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the ethics application process.