Research Data Management: Data Management Planning

A guide to KU Libraries' services for managing and preserving research data.

Funding Agency Guidelines

Why Write a Data Management Plan?

  • Meet funding agency requirements.
    Some federal funding agencies, including the NSF and the NIH, require grant applicants to submit data management or sharing plans with proposals.
  • Increase the visibility of your research and contribute to others' research.
    Sharing your data in a public repository helps other researchers find and cite your work and potentially reuse your data, which may result in new findings.
  • Preserve your data.
    Ensure that your data will be accessible and usable in the future, even as file formats, software, and storage media change. This provides a backup if loss of data occurs. 
  • Protect yourself and your subjects.
    Data management planning can fulfill ethical and legal requirements to protect intellectual property and the privacy of your subjects, and result in a permanent record supporting your research findings. Managing research data is an essential component of responsible scholarship.

Data Management Plan Tools