Several major research funders now require that researchers include data management plans (DMPs) in their requests for funding. Use the templates on this page to help create DMPs for your proposals. The templates contain suggested items to consider; not all questions will be appropriate or relevant to all projects. Templates marked with an asterisk were adapted from templates created by the University of Virginia Libraries Scientific Data Consulting Group.
Below you will find templates, or links to recommended templates or guides, for:
- National Science Foundation, All Directorates
- National Institutes of Health, Office of Extramural Research
- National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Digital Humanities
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Management of Environmental Data and Information Procedural Directive
- Institute of Museum and Library Services, Projects That Develop Digital Products
Create Your Data Management Plan
Step 1 – Review All Appropriate Guidelines
Along with the templates below, you will find links to specific funder guidelines that address unique data management issues within each research community. Be sure to look at the "Proposal Preparation Instructions" section of the solicitation for your proposal, and review the program or directorate website for additional guidelines.
Step 2 – Create Your DMP Using the Appropriate Template
To create your Data Management Plan, select the appropriate template from the list below. Most templates have five or six main sections (indicated by bold headings). We suggest that you try to address the topic of each section. You will usually find more specific questions underneath the bold headings to help guide your writing. You can:
- Start by answering the questions within each section (under each section description).
- After answering all the relevant questions, remove the questions, leaving just your answers.
- Modify the answers into prose that makes sense as a paragraph below each Roman numeral header (include the bold text as the header to each of your sections in your Data Management Plan).
Your completed DMP will have the section headers followed by prose paragraphs describing how you plan to address each point.
DMP Templates
Proposals to the National Science Foundation
Biological Sciences Directorate (BIO)
Computer & Information Sciences & Engineering (CISE)
Education & Human Resources Directorate (EHR)
Engineering Directorate (ENG)
Geological Sciences Directorate (GEO)
Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate (MPS)
Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE)
Find links to sample DMPs and links to other resources on data management on the NSF Data Management Plan Requirements page.
Proposals to the National Institutes of Health
Office of Extramural Research
Proposals to the National Endowment for the Humanities
Office of Digital Humanities
Proposals to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Proposals to the Institute for Museum and Library Services
Projects That Develop Digital Products
* Adapted from work made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license, © 2012 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia.
