Data Management and Access Plans

Managing, preserving and sharing the products of research is an essential component of developing proposals and complying with the requirements of grants awarded for research.

Many federal and private research funding agencies now require investigators to include data management plans in research proposals, and require grant recipients to ensure the data they produce is usable, preserved and accessible.  

This page provides information on agency requirements and resources to help you develop effective plans for data management and sharing. 

Federal Funding Agency Policies for Data Management and Sharing

Resources for Developing Data Management Plans and Data Sharing

The UC Merced Library provides resources for the development of data management and sharing plans:

The California Digital Library (CDL) also provides information and tools to manage and share research data:

Research Data Defined

Research data is defined as the recorded factual material commonly accepted in the scientific community as necessary to validate research findings, but not any of the following: preliminary analyses, drafts of scientific papers, plans for future research, peer reviews or communications with colleagues.

This "recorded" material excludes physical objects (e.g., laboratory samples). Research data also do not include: 

  • Trade secrets, commercial information, materials necessary to be held confidential by a researcher until they are published or similar information that is protected under law; and
  • Personnel and medical information and similar information the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, such as information that could be used to identify a particular person in a research study. 
                                                             U.S. Office of Management and Budget Circular A-110 (36.d.2.i.)