Principal Investigators,
This news update is a high-level summary of the new requirements for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Data Management and Sharing (DMS) policy.
The new DMS Policy requires DMS plans to be submitted for all NIH proposals for research that will result in the generation of scientific data submitted on or after January 25, 2023, regardless of the budget amount. Prior to award, NIH will review the submitted plan and may work with Principal Investigators (PIs) to redevelop or revise the DMS plan. The DMS plan will not be a factor in merit review. Once awarded, scientific data collected during the project must be retained and managed in accordance with an approved DMS plan.
What are scientific data?
NIH defines scientific data as the recorded factual material commonly accepted in the scientific community as of sufficient quality to validate and replicate research findings, regardless of whether the data are used to support scholarly publications. Scientific data do not include laboratory notebooks, preliminary analyses, completed case report forms, drafts of scientific papers, plans for future research, peer reviews, communications with colleagues, or physical objects, such as laboratory specimens.
How do I develop a compliant DMS plan?
Principal Investigators are encouraged to develop the DMS plan using the DMPTool. To get started with the DMPTool, signup using your Boise State University email address and your single sign-on credentials. The DMPTool will walk you through the required sections of the DMS plan and includes guidance developed by Albertsons Library, Research Computing, the Office of Research Compliance, and the Office of Sponsored Programs. Albertsons Library staff (datamanagement@boisestate.edu) are available to assist PIs in developing DMS plans. We encourage starting DMS planning early in the proposal development process. The DMPTool is available to aid in the development of other data management plans too!
Are costs associated with DMS plans allowable in NIH budgets?
Generally, yes. NIH allows the inclusion of direct costs for data management activities in proposals. The following costs are allowable for NIH budget requests:
- Curating data
- Developing supporting documentation
- Formatting data according to accepted community standards, or for transmission to and storage at a selected repository for long-term preservation and access
- De-identifying data
- Preparing metadata to foster discoverability, interpretation, and reuse
- Local data management considerations, such as unique and specialized information infrastructure necessary to provide local management and preservation (for example, before deposit into an established repository).
- Preserving and sharing data through established repositories, such as data deposit fees. If the Data Management & Sharing plan proposes deposition to multiple repositories, costs associated with each proposed repository may be included.
- The above allowable costs must be incurred during the period of performance. For instance, if a Data Management & Sharing plan proposes preserving and sharing scientific data for 10 years in an established repository with a deposition fee, the cost for the entire 10-year period must be paid before the end of the period of performance.
Infrastructure costs that are included in institutional overhead (a.k.a. Facilities and Administrative or F&A costs) and costs that are associated with routine conduct of research are unallowable and cannot be included as a direct cost in NIH budgets.
You are encouraged to discuss these costs with your OSP Pre-Award Research Administrator (preaward@boisestate.edu) when developing your budget and the DMS plan.
Where can I get more information?
NIH recently hosted a webinar on the DMPTool. Slides and a Recording of the session are available on the National Library of Medicine website. We also recommend all NIH researchers familiarize themselves with NIH’s Data Management and Sharing Policy website.
Please contact your OSP Pre-Award Research Administrator (preaward@boisestate.edu) and/or Albertsons Library (datamanagement@boisestate.edu) if you have any questions about the DMS plan requirements for upcoming NIH proposals.