The following resources contain data management best practices information for research organizations (both within and outside of the Belmont Forum) in Europe:
- Organization: Agence Nationale Recherche - ANR (France)
Policies: ANR does not have a written policy on data sharing and does not require a separate data management plan. However, if a Consortium agreement with all PIs is required (as for public/private partnerships), data management (and intellectual property) should be included in this document. Consortium agreements have to be submitted before the first grant instalment to funded projects. Grant funds can be used to pay for data management costs.
- Organization: Alliance nationale de recherche pour l'environnement - AllEnvi (France)
Policies: AllEnvi does not have a written policy on data sharing and officially does not outline a data management plan.
- Organization: Federal Ministry of Education and Research - BMBF (Germany)
Policies: BMBF does not have a written policy on data sharing and does not outline a data management plan.
- Organization: Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research of Austria - BMWFW
Policies: BMWFW does not have a written policy on data sharing and does not outline a data management plan.
- Organization: German Research Foundation - DFG
Policies: Although data management plans are currently not compulsory when applying for funding through DFG, the organization supports data management through the adoption of the "Principles for the Handling of Research Data" (linked below) declaration through the Alliance of German Science Organisations, which outlines that the Alliance supports the long-term preservation of, and the principle of open access to, data from publicly funded research. The Alliance also supports metadata standards and development of organizational infrastructures which guide cooperation between researchers and information specialists. More information is available through the following links:
http://www.dfg.de/en/research_funding/proposal_review_decision/applicants/research_data/index.html
https://www.wissenschaftsrat.de/download/archiv/Allianz-Principles_Research_Data_2010.pdf
- Organization: Group on Earth Observations - GEO (Geneva, Switzerland)
Policies: GEO promotes the use of GEOSS Data Management principles which outline steps towards common standards and interoperability arrangements. The GEOSS Data Management principles are categorized under five headings: discoverability, accessibility, usability, preservation, and curation. GEO also abides by GEOSS Data Sharing principles, which state that data, metadata, and products will be shared as open data by default by making them available through GEOSS Data Collection of Open Resources for Everyone (Data-CORE, information linked below), without charge or restrictions on reuse, subject to the conditions of registration and attribution when the data are reused. Where international instruments, national policies or legislation preclude the sharing of data as open data, data should be made available with minimal restrictions on use and at no more than the cost of reproduction and distribution. All shared data, products and metadata will be made available with minimum time delay. When using Data-CORE, GEO recommends voluntary waivers and standard common-use licenses. More information is available through the following links:
https://www.earthobservations.org/open_eo_data.php
https://www.earthobservations.org/documents/geo_xii/GEO-XII_10_Data%20Management%20Principles%20Implementation%20Guidelines.pdf
http://www.earthobservations.org/documents/geo_xi/GEO-XI_08_Report%20on%20Data%20Sharing%20Principles%20Post-2015%20and%20Mechanisms%20to%20Ensure%20Legal%20Interoperability%20of%20Shared%20Data.pdf
- Organization: Horizon 2020 - H2020 (European Commission)
Policies: In Horizon 2020, research data should be open by default (with possibilities to opt out when justified). Grantees in all thematic areas are required to deposit underlying research data in a repository, take measures to grant open access to research data, and follow the FAIR Data Principles of being findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. H2020 requires all projects to submit a data management plan within the first 6 months of the project. In the application, some basic information related to data management should be addressed in the impact criterion and the budget should include data management costs. After the initial data management plan, the plan should be updated when there are significant changes for data. A final update should be part of the project final review. More information is available through the following links:
Guidelines on Open Access to Scientific Publications and Research Data in Horizon 2020 (includes guidelines for opting out of data sharing in certain circumstances)
Guidelines on FAIR Data Management in Horizon 2020 (includes a data management plan template).
- Organization: Natural Environment Research Council - NERC (UK)
Policies: NERC requires answers to some basic data management questions at the time of application (outline data management plan) and requires a full data management plan where a project is funded. Data of long-term value from NERC-funded projects must be deposited in an appropriate NERC Data Centre, normally within 2 years of collection. Generally, NERC mandates that environmental data be deposited here: http://www.ceda.ac.uk/projects/jasmin/. Funds for post-project data management are budgeted separately and paid from a dedicated data management fund. More information is available through the following links:
Guidance for their data management plans: https://nerc.ukri.org/research/sites/data/dmp/dmp-guidance/
Clear elaboration of NERC's data policy: https://nerc.ukri.org/research/sites/data/dmp/
- Organization: National Research Council/Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - CNR (Italy)
Policies: For its funded projects, CNR abides by the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies data management policies. This requires all researchers to have a formal procedure for ensuring the retention of data and for defining the ownership of such data, including policies to ensure retention of data in the event of researchers leaving the institution or consortium. Data and all other relevant research materials should be openly available (where allowed) for use and replication by other scientists. More information is available through the following links:
https://www.cnr.it/sites/default/files/public/media/doc_istituzionali/ethics/research_integrity_ege_statement.pdf
- Organization: Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research - NWO
Policies: NWO adopted a data management policy as of 1 October 2016 that research data should be findable, accessible, reusable, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR principles). In research proposals, a data management section is required with answers to four basic questions. A more datailed data management plan is required within four months of award notification and is a condition of funds disbursement. The template is closely aligned with the format used by Horizon 2020. Data management costs should be included in the budget. More information is available through the following links:
Open Science at NWO: https://www.nwo.nl/en/policies/open+science
Data Management Protocol: https://www.nwo.nl/en/policies/open+science/data+management
Data Management Q&A: https://www.nwo.nl/en/policies/open+science/data+management+chapter
Full Data Management Plan Form: https://www.nwo.nl/en/documents/nwo/policy/data-management-plan-form
- Organization: Research Council of Norway
Policies: The Research Council's Policy on Open Access to Research Data ensures that data are accessible to relevant users, on equal terms, and at the lowest possible cost. The Research Council identifies the importance of a data management plan and stipulates that the international FAIR principles (findable, accessible, interoperable and resuable) must be followed, and provides links to several centres that help generate data management plans for researchers: (links) Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD), Digital Curation Centre, National e-Infrastructure for Research Data (NIRD). For all projects that receive funding from the Research Council, the R&D-performing institutions or companies should assess whether projects must develop a data management plan. If the project manager decides that a data management plan is necessary, the project will draw up a plan in accordance with the institution's own guidelines. This plan must be delivered at the time of the revision of the application. The Research Council also provides potential content of a data management plan that follows the guidelines and stipulations of receiving funding from the organization. More information is available through the following links:
https://www.forskningsradet.no/en/Article/What_is_a_data_management_plan/1254032567145
https://www.forskningsradet.no/en/Article/Open_access_to_research_data/1240958527698?lang=en
- Organization: Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning - FORMAS
Policies: Researchers who receive funding from Formas must guarantee that their research results be available through Open Access within six months of publication. Further, all Formas-funded research projects must promote the accessiblity and use of scientific data by making metadata available in existing national or international databases, as long as doing so does not contravene national legislation concerning personal data. Those applying for grant funding for projects must fill out Appendix K (linked below) as part of the application. If data collection is not part of the project or if it is not possible to make the data available through open sources this should be stated in the research data form. More information is available through the following links:
http://www.formas.se/en/Financing/General-instructions/ (Under "Open Access")
http://www.formas.se/Documents/Prisma_appendices/Bilaga_K17.pdf (Appendix K - Research Data form)
- Organization: Swedish Secretariat for Environmental Earth System Sciences - SSEESS
Policies: SSEESS does not have a written policy on data sharing and does not outline a data management plan.
Questions, comments, or suggestions for resources? Please fill out the comments and suggestions form and we will get back to you shortly.