Research Data Management and DMP requirements

Institutional policies and guidelines

DMP requirements, or calls for the use of DMPs, are commonly part of Open Science policies or guidelines for research data management. Here are links to current institutional policies of Norwegian Higher Education institutions. Currently, we have only included the partners of this DMP support project in the list. For other organisations, you can find an overview in the RDM resources in Norway (RDMkit): Support services.

• NTNU Guidelines for policy for Open Science

  Research projects led by researchers at NTNU must have a data management plan that satisfies the requirements of any relevant funders. The data management plan should be set up early in the research project, and no later than six (6) months after commencement. As a minimum requirement, the data management plan should contain the core elements defined by Science Europe and describe the following:

  • Data collection/generation and methods
  • Formats, organization and metadata,
  • Storage during the project
  • Archiving and sharing
  • Rights, licences, privacy and ethics
  • Costs and responsibilities

• UiB Policy for Open Science

  All research projects lead by researchers at UiB will have a data management plan.

• UiO Policies and guidelines for research data management

  Research data shall be provided with a data management plan.

  • The data management plan is a document that describes how the data is to be managed both during the research project and after it has been completed
  • The data management plan shall describe how the data should be made available in accordance with international standards
  • The scientific staff shall have a conscious attitude as to how research data considered as not having long-term value should be managed or destroyed after a certain period of time

• UiT Principles and guidelines for management for research data

  The researcher must set up a Data Management Plan at an early phase of the project and preferably within six months after start-up.

  • Retningslinjer for oppfølging av datahåndteringsplaner

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Funder policies and guidelines

The Research Council of Norway

• From 2023, Open Science is assessed in grant applications. While a DMP is usually written at a later stage, making oneself familiar with the assessment criteria is recommended.

• The Research Council of Norway: Sharing research data (webpage)

  Requirements for data management plan in projects that manage data - excerpts from the linked to webpage:

  • A good data management plan makes the research data easier to retrieve and understand for others, creates awareness of data security, costs and quality, makes the research reproducible and increases the potential for reuse. The data management plan should be a living document that is regularly updated throughout the life of the project.
  • The requirement for a data management plan for projects receiving funding from the Research Council of Norway was introduced in 2018.
  • Projects must submit the first version of the plan when revising the grant application. An updated version is delivered together with the project’s final report.
  • It is the responsibility of the Project Owner to approve that the plan is in line with the institution’s requirements and guidelines before it is submitted.
  • Data management plans should, as far as possible, be public and published openly so that academic communities can better follow their peers’ practices.
  • Based on the data management plans received, the Research Council will accept any costs for managing data as part of the operating costs of the projects we support.

• The Research Council of Norway. (2017). Policy for Open Access to Research Data

  The Research Council’s guidelines in seven headlines (page 6f):

  • Research data must be stored/archived in a safe and secure manner
  • Research data must be made accessible for reuse
  • Research data should be made accessible at an early stage
  • Research data must be accompanied by standardised metadata
  • Research data provided with a license for access, reuse, and redistribution
  • Research data should be made accessible at the lowest possible cost
  • The management of research data must be described in a data management plan

• The Research Council of Norway. (2020). Policy for Open Science

  The Research Council will (page 10):

  • encourage adherence to the FAIR principles for data and metadata resulting from Research Council-funded projects.
  • require that datasets are made accessible along with their accompanying protocols, methods, models, algorithms, software and source code.
  • take steps to ensure that direct expenses associated with making data openly accessible according to the FAIR principles are clearly identified in grant applications.
  • require that medical and health-related clinical trials involving human subjects are registered in an approved database prior to project start-up.

• The Research Council of Norway. (2025). General Terms and Conditions for R&D Projects

  Reports (p. 7f):

  • In general: The Project Owner shall store the final report and project data in a safe and secure manner for at least 10 years after the conclusion of the contract period.
  • Final reports: The Project Owner is to provide the name of the archives or data infrastructure to be used for storing the research data/output data generated in connection with the project that may be relevant for reuse, and all the necessary documentation for reuse of the data (metadata).
  • Final reports: Projects that have submitted a data management plan must append the latest version of this plan to the final report.

  Publication and archiving (p. 11f):

  • Publication of project results: Research-generated data must be made publicly available after the conclusion of the project, unless special circumstances indicate otherwise, or unless this is prevented by the terms and conditions of the contract or other public rules.
  • Archiving of project results: The Project Owner shall ensure that all research- generated data, including all data that forms the basis for publications, is stored in a secure digital archive. Such archiving is to be carried out as soon as possible and at the latest two years following the conclusion of the project period. The Research Council may require that all such data, including the necessary documentation for reuse of data (metadata), is stored in designated, secure national or international archives, unless there are special reasons for otherwise, or contractual terms or public regulations prevent it.

Horizon Europe

• Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (European Commission). (2021). Horizon Europe Open Science Fact Sheet.

  • Horizon Europe will require immediate open access to all scientific publications and responsible research data management so that data are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable (FAIR). Data will be made ‘as open as possible, but will be allowed to stay as closed as necessary’, safeguarding legitimate interests or constraints.
  • The criteria for evaluating research proposals under Horizon Europe will take into account the quality and appropriateness of the open science practices in the submitted proposals.

• European Commission (Version 1.0, 01 May 2024). Horizon Europe Annotated Model Grant Agreement

  How to meet the research data management and open access requirements - excerpts from the AGA (page 376ff):

  • Beneficiaries must submit a DMP as a mandatory project deliverable (normally within 6 months after grant signature). An updated DMP deliverable must then be produced mid-project (for projects longer than twelve months) and at the end of the project (where relevant).
  • Writing a DMP is an activity directly linked to the methodology of the research, i.e. good data management will make the work more efficient/save time, contribute to safeguarding information and to increasing the impact and the value of the data among the beneficiaries and others, during and after the research.
  • Beneficiaries should maintain the DMP as a living document and update it over the course of the project whenever significant changes arise.
  • The data must be deposited in a trusted repository, ensuring open access via the repository, as soon as possible and within the deadlines set out in the DMP.

• European Commission. (Version 4.1, 01 May 2024). Horizon Europe Programme Guide: Open Science

  Chapter 16. Open Science - excerpts from the Programme Guide (p.40ff):

  • Research data management (RDM) is mandatory in Horizon Europe for projects generating or reusing data. If you expect to generate or reuse data and/or other research outputs (except for publications), you are required to outline in a maximum of one page how these will be managed. Further details on this are provided in the proposal template in the relevant section on open science.
  • Data management plans (DMPs) are a cornerstone for responsible management of research outputs, notably data and are mandatory in Horizon Europe for projects generating and/or reusing data (on requirements and the frequency of DMPs as deliverables consult the AGA article 17.
  • Writing a DMP is part of the methodology of the project (…). DMPs are thus a key means of support when planning and conducting a research project, and, ideally, filling in a DMP should be started prior to the beginning of the project.
  • A DMP should be a living document, which is updated and enriched as the project evolves.

ERC Work Programme

• ERC Work Programme 2025

  Open Science - excerpts from the work programme (p.10):

  • The ERC is committed to the principle of open access to the published output of research (…). It also supports the basic principle of open access to research data and data-related products such as computer code, algorithms, software, workflows, protocols, electronic notebooks, or any other forms of research output.
  • In addition, beneficiaries of ERC grants funded under this Work Programme will be covered by the provisions on research data management as set out in the Model Grant Agreement used for ERC actions. In particular, whenever a project generates research data, beneficiaries are required to manage it in line with the principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability as described by the FAIR principles initiative, and establish a data management plan within the first six months of project implementation.

MSCA Postdoctoral fellowships

• MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships Handbook - Call 2024

  Open Science practices - excerpts from the Handbook (p.18ff):

  • If you expect to generate or reuse data and/or other research outputs (except for publications), you are required to outline in a maximum of ½ page (including OS practices) how these will be managed.
  • Show best practice in RDM – including provisions required to be in place to ensure that data is managed responsibly (e.g., the right venue is chosen for deposition, legal provisions such as general data protection regulation (GDPR) are respected, etc.).
  • RDM, in line with the FAIR principles is a requirement that should be carried out regardless of whether the data generated and re-used in the project is intended to be openly accessible, or if access restrictions are foreseen.
  • More details should be provided in the data management plan (DMP), which is not required at submission stage but is a mandatory deliverable. In the text explain that further details will be provided in the DMP.
  • For more insight, you can check the template for a DMP from the European Commission. If your hosting institution has a DMP template, you can also use this, if it is in line with the Commission’s one.

Further resources

Contributors