On January 25, 2023, the NIH’s Final Policy for Data Management and Sharing went into effect. The policy requires all NIH funding applications to include a data management and sharing plan. The intention of the policy is to encourage proactive data management throughout the life of the project, and to require sharing of the data required to replicate the study at the end of the project, to the greatest extent that it is legally and ethically possible to do so.
Throughout the course of this past year, the Galter DataLab has fielded questions from and provided data management and sharing plan (DMSP) reviews for dozens of members of the Feinberg community. After one year’s experience in supporting this policy, we are more eager than ever to share the benefits of our knowledge with you.
If you have general questions about the policy or how to write a DMSP, consider attending our NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy Virtual Q&A/Office Hours on the first day of Love Data Week, Monday, February 12, 2024 at 3:00pm. This is our local contribution towards the dozens of events planned around the world and virtually during a week devoted to celebrating data management, curation, and sharing.
If you can’t make the office hours, we have many other resources supporting compliance with the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy, including:
- The class “Getting to Know the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy” (next session: Feb. 28, 10:00am)
- A GalterGuide on Creating an NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy
- The publication, Ten simple rules for maximizing the recommendations of the NIH data management and sharing plan
- The Galter DataLab, a group of librarians offering consultations and expertise on data management topics
- Data Librarian Sara Gonzales, MS, MLIS, the point-of-contact for all questions related to NIH Data Management and Sharing
Additional Support
In addition, there are many resources beyond Galter Library, including:
- The NIH’s comprehensive website on the Data Management and Sharing Policy, sharing.nih.gov
- A Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) Musings from the Mezzanine blog post by Maryam Zaringhalam, Lisa Federer, and Martha Meacham on NLM’s work and resources supporting data sharing, building on accomplishments of the Year of Open Science
- The many resources made available by NNLM’s National Center for Data Services, including the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy Toolkit
- The DataWorks! Help Desk, a knowledge base and live chat tool to assist biological and biomedical researchers with data-related questions
- The NIH Office of Data Science and Sharing (ODSS) resources page: nichd.nih.gov/about/org/od/odss#resources
- FASEB DataWorks! Salon recording from 1/17/24 on Creating an NIH Data Management Plan
Updated: February 6, 2024