NIH Data Management & Sharing Plan (DMSP) Research Guide: Getting Started

• Free online application for creating a DMSP that complies with funder requirements
• Includes direct links to funder websites, help text for answering questions, and resources for best practices surrounding data management.
• GW is an 'affiliated institution' for the DMPTool; GW users can create a personalized dashboard to see their DMSPs.
• To get started:
  • Visit DMPTool's website: https://dmptool.org/
  • When you click 'sign in', use Option 1 and search for George Washington University
  • Log in with your GW UserID/Password
  • This will take you to 'My Dashboard' where you can create plans
• For more help, consult the DMPTool Quick Start Guide

University of California Curation Center (2020) About: What is the DMPTool. 

This video provides a brief introduction on how to use the DMPTool. 

If you are applying for NIH funding, you can use the NIH_GEN DMSP (2023) template in DMPTool to create your DMS plan using the following instructions:

1. On the My Dashboard page of DMPTool, click "Create Plan"
2. To access the NIH_GEN DMSP (2023) template be sure to select "National Institutes of Health" (nih.gov) under Funder. This will automatically generate the appropriate template. 
3. To create a plan using the NIH-GEN DMSP (2023) template, click on the "Write Plan" tab and add information to each of the six categories. 

These videos from NIH provide a comprehensive overview of the Data Management and Sharing Policy. Part 1 focuses on an overview of the policy and Part 2 provides a more nuanced look at the policy. 

The following is a list of data management plan examples & templates:

This video provides a brief overview of the NIH Common Date Elements (CDE) repository. 

The Open Science Framework (OSF) is a free, open source web application from the Center for Open Science that is designed specifically for research project management. Researcher can use OSF to collaborate, document, archive, share, and register research projects including related materials and data. The system's flexible private/public settings allow research to share their work selectively and to acquire a DOI. OSF integrates with tools such as Google Drive, Box, GitHub, and Zotero making it valuable resource in relation to the NIH DMS Policy. 

GW has in an institutional account for OSF which has the benefit of collocating institutional research. Follow the OSF instructions for signing in via your institution. 

This brief video provides an introduction to the Open Science Framcework.

This video provides a step by step introduction to using Google Refine 2.0, now Open Refine. 

How to begin:

1. Read the policy and supplemental guidance from NIH.

2. Determine your timeline and factor in the needs of possible external collaborators. 

3. Become familiar with the FAIR principles which are central to the new policy.

4. Assess your project and data management practices. Also consider practices that you currently have or may need to develop.

5. Review GW data services and consider costs that require budgeting. NIH provides additional guidance on Allowable Costs for Data Management and Sharing

The Federal Demonstration Partnership is exploring the option of developing streamlined DMS Plan templates. See the FDP NIH Data Management and Sharing Pilot website for information and to access the Alpha and Bravo sample templates. These templates are also available via DMP tool. NIH has information about the FDP pilot program on their learning website. 

This video provides information on the FDP Pilot Program and emerging developments. 

This video provides an overview of Research Data Management and the FAIR principles.