Prepare for NIH Data Management and Sharing Plans Using the DMPTool

By — April 22, 2022

Beginning with the January 25, 2023 grant cycle, the NIH will enact a policy requiring all NIH grant submissions to include a two page Data Management and Sharing plan (henceforth referred to as the plan). The plan outlines how the investigator will store, protect, and ultimately share research data generated from NIH funds. You can begin preparing for the plan quickly and easily using the DMPTool (dmptool.org).

The DMPTool provides templates and guidance for many data management and sharing plans from several different funding bodies including the forthcoming NIH plan. To use the DMPTool to prepare for the NIH plan, simply navigate to dmptool.org and enter your WashU email address.

Then select Sign in with Institution to Continue

You will be redirected to the WUSTL Key Single Sign on page where you can sign in with your WUSTLKeyand password.

On My Dashboard select Create Plan.

Then enter some basic project information, which can be generic if you are creating a practice plan. You also can click the checkbox next to “mock project for testing, practice, or educational purposes” if creating a practice plan. Select NIH as your Funder and NIH-GEN DMSP (Forthcoming 2023) in the Which DMP template would you like to use? dropdown menu.  Click Create Plan.

After selecting Create Plan, you will be taken to the Project Details tab where you will have the option to select guidance for writing a plan from up to six organizations:

After selecting your preferred organizations to provide guidance, click the Write Plan tab to see each section heading of the NIH plan.

Click the Data Type section header to reveal a description of the section, a text box to enter information for your project, and an NIH example answer.

By reading each section, you can begin getting a mental framework of how plans for your current or future projects would look. The NIH Data Management and Sharing policy does not go into effect until the January 25, 2023 grant cycle but now is the perfect time to begin preparing. If you have questions about the forthcoming NIH Data Management and Sharing policy or any features of the DMPTool, contact Chris Sorensen (sorensenc@wustl.edu) or Seonyoung Kim (seonyoung.kim@wustl.edu).

For a comprehensive overview of the policy and what to include in a DMS plan, watch one of our recorded informational sessions (links below) or the NIH Data Sharing website.