NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy now in effect

Please note: To promote the sharing of scientific data, the National Institutes of Health Data Management and Sharing Policy went into effect Jan. 25.

Proposals submitted to NIH after this date are expected to include a Data Management and Sharing Plan (DMSP). Plans should include information about the types of data to be managed and shared; related tools, software and/or code; the standards that will be applied to the data (including metadata standards); timelines and other information regarding data preservation and long-term access; considerations for data distribution or reuse; and oversight of data management and sharing.

NIH program staff will assess data management and sharing plans. For assistance with developing a DMSP, see the NIH website linked above or the DMPTool.

Effective data management supports research integrity. NIH encourages consistency with the FAIR data principles, making data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. Data management processes should include documentation about data collection or creation, variable definitions, and all other information required to understand or reuse the data.

Under the NIH policy, investigators are able to choose the most appropriate methods for sharing their data, including available data repositories.

The Georgia Tech Library supports research data curation; investigators may share and archive their data using the Georgia Tech Digital Repository, currently known as SMARTech.

The Library will assign persistent identifiers to research datasets, ensuring long-term access to authentic, authorized Georgia Tech research. Contact smartech@library.gatech.edu for assistance.