Data management planning

A data management plan (DMP) describes how you will collect, organise, analyse, preserve and share data. It ensures that you meet funder requirements.

You should complete your DMP early in the research project. This will establish good data management practice and make your data management more efficient throughout.

Many research funders require that you create a DMP as part of grant applications. DMPs vary in length depending on the funder requirement and the complexity of your data. Most plans are 1–4 pages long.

Find out more about funder requirements for research data.

What is included in a data management plan

Your DMP should describe how you will:

• Organise and describe data: What data types, formats, standards and capture methods will be used.
• Manage legal and ethical requirements: How you will safeguard sensitive data, and whether to restrict access and use.
• Store data: How you will store the data in the short- and long-term.
• Share data: How data will be shared outside the core project staff and what reuse opportunities there are.
• Manage staff resource and training: Who will be responsible for data management, what resources do you need, and is any training required.

Tools and templates are available to support you when creating your data management plan.