Research data management
Responsible research data management is an essential component of good research practice. This page explains what NWO expects of you with regards to data management.
NWO expects researchers to:
- complete a data management section when applying for NWO grants,
- prepare a data management plan after the grant is awarded and before the project starts,
- deposit research data resulting from the grant in a trusted repository in such a way that the data are findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR).
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Scope
NWO understands research data as the evidence that underpins the answer to research questions and can be used to validate findings. Software (algorithms, scripts and code developed during the course of a project) that are needed to access and interpret the data should be, as much as possible, made openly available alongside the data.
In addition to being safely stored and carefully curated, research data should be made available for reuse as widely and as early as possible. The guiding principle in this respect is 'as open as possible, as closed as necessary.'
NWO therefore expects researchers to:
- carefully manage all research data generated as part of NWO funded projects,
- preserve these data for at least ten years, unless legal provisions or discipline-specific guidelines dictate otherwise,
- as a minimum, share the research data that underlie research publications by depositing them in a trusted repository.
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Data management section
The data management section is part of the research proposal.
Researchers are expected to consider in advance how they will manage the data the project will generate and plan which data will be preserved and made publicly available.
Data management costs are eligible for funding and can be included in the project budget. Data management costs fall under the budget module ‘material budget’.
It is recommended that researchers seek advice from their institution’s research support office when completing this section. Research support staff will be able to recommend suitable storage facilities and repositories for the data, and to advise on relevant data management costs.
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Data management plan (DMP)
Once a project has been awarded funding, the project leader is required to elaborate the data management section into a data management plan (DMP). This plan describes:
- what data will be collected or produced, and what existing data will be re-used,
- how the data will be safely stored during and managed during and after the project,
- how the data will be made FAIR: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable. If for reasons of privacy, public safety, ethical restrictions, intellectual property rights or commercial interests data cannot be deposited in a repository, this needs to be explained in the DMP.
The project leader must submit the DMP to NWO after the project has been awarded and before the project starts. The project can only start once the DMP has been approved by NWO. The DMP needs to be completed in consultation with research data management support staff at the home institution of the grant holder.
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Institutional DMP templates
Project leaders have the option to use a DMP template from their own research institution, as long as that template has been approved by NWO. If your institution is listed below, you have the choice to use your institutional DMP template or the NWO DMP template.
If your institutional DMP template is not listed here, it means that it has not yet been approved by NWO. If you would like NWO to review and approve your institutional DMP template, your institution's data management support has to send the template to NWO via datamanagement@nwo.nl. In the meantime, you can use the NWO DMP template to write your DMP.
Universities
Erasmus University Rotterdam , Leiden University , Maastricht University, Radboud University, TU Delft, University of Amsterdam, Utrecht University, University of Twente, University of Humanistic Studies, VU Amsterdam, Wageningen University & Research.
University medical centres
Amsterdam UMC, Erasmus MC, Leiden University Medical Centre, Maastricht UMC+, Radboudumc, University Medical Center Groningen, University Medical Centre Utrecht.
Universities of applied sciences
Avans University of Applied Sciences, Fontys, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Hogeschool van Amsterdam.
Other knowledge institutions
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI), Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology,TNO.
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Contact
For advice on completing the data management section in your proposal, or data management plan (after awarding), it is best to approach your institution's RDM support team or Local Digital Competence Centre. You may also contact the secretary of the funding instrument concerned.
For questions about NWO's research data management policy please contact Marta Teperek.
Download
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DMP assessment rubric
This assessment rubric is intended to assist in the assessment of NWO data management plans, against the criteria required by NWO.