Data Management Toolkit Helps NSF Grant Applicants

By Barrie Hayes September 14, 2016

Beginning Jan. 18, 2011, the National Science Foundation (NSF) will require that all grant proposals include a data management plan. Plans must conform to the NSF data sharing policy and should describe what best practices or standards will be used to organize data, as well as how data will be shared.

In response to these new requirements, the UNC Libraries’ Data Management Committee has created a Research Data Toolkit  that explains the new requirements and provides guidance to UNC-Chapel Hill researchers drafting a grant proposal.

The Toolkit includes:

  • Information and FAQ about NSF Data Management Plan requirements
  • Sample plans from UNC’s Odum Institute for Research in Social Science
  • A decision-making checklist to assess storage needs
  • A directory of data repositories
  • A listing of metadata standards by discipline
  • A directory of campus units and resources to assist researchers
  • Basic principles of confidential data protection
  • Listings of upcoming courses and recordings of previous data management workshops

The site will eventually include boilerplate language and additional sample plans. Directory listings will also be expanded and updated.

The committee has also established dataplan@listserv.unc.edu to answer researcher questions in partnership with the Odum Institute and the UNC Office of Sponsored Research.

For questions about the Research Data Toolkit, contact Barrie Hayes, Health Sciences Library (bhayes@email.unc.edu) or Michele Hayslett, Davis Library (michele_hayslett@unc.edu).

Last modified: 12/16/16