NSF Policy  |  Create the Plan

NSF Data Management and Sharing Plan Policy

The Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 24-1 describes NSF-wide policies, but Supplement 2 (Jan. 22, 2026) takes precedence over the PAPPG.

Changes relevant to data sharing and the data management plan are outlined in the Supplement:

  1. Public Access to Research Products (Chapter XI.D.2.c)
  2. Dissemination and Sharing of Research Results (Chapter XI.D.4)
  3. Data Management and Sharing Plan (Chapter II.D.2.(i).(ii))

General guidelines:

  • Data should be shared according to existing standards whenever possible
  • Primary data, samples, physical collections, software, inventions, curriculum material, and other supporting materials should be shared as covered by the DMSP
  • Datasets should be deposited in repositories that assign a Persistent Identifier (PID), such as a DOI.
    •  if no PID has been assigned, an NSF-PAR ID will be accepted
  • Shared datasets must acknowledge NSF support and award number(s) in their metadata
  • Shared datasets should be reported in annual and final project reports in the Products section
  • The dataset’s DOI must be reported via NSF-PAR.
  • Exceptions (delays and limiting access) must be justified in the DMSP

Directorates and Divisions within NSF may have additional requirements and guidance. 

The Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) that you are applying to may also include information about data management and sharing.

Using Research.gov to Create the Plan

NSF requires researchers to use Research.gov to create the Data Management and Sharing Plan.

You can save versions of your plan in your account in Research.gov. Drafts of plans can be exported if you would like us to review the plan.

  • There is also a demo site if you would like to see what the form looks like.

Notes about the form

Data or Research Product Category General Information

For certain NSF funding opportunities, the form might provide you with a list of pre-defined Categories. But in other cases, you may have to create your own Category via “Add new.”

For pre-defined Categories, there may also be pre-defined options displayed in “Data Standards and Metadata” and “Public Archiving.”

At this time, you can have up to 4 Categories. For larger projects, you may need to create/use broad Categories in order to address all of the types of data that your project may generate or collect.

For each Category you select or define, the form has seven (7) additional sections.

Most of these sections allow only one entry, so you may want to provide additional information via the “Details” text box.

For instance, if you a Category called Biological Data, that consists of several types of data (e.g., sequence data, microscopy images, and cell growth data), the only way to describe the data and metadata standards for each of those types of data is via the Details field.

  • Access Policies and Limitations
  • Data Standards and Metadata
  • Data or Research Product Provenance
  • Public Archiving
  • Timeline for Public Accessibility
  • Data Availability
  • Accountability

 

Contact us if you would like assistance: lib-data@uiowa.edu