DMPTool.org is an online consortium to help researchers write data management plans. The tool is customized with specific step-by-step guidance for each of the major funders, including DOD, DOE, DOJ, DOT, IMLS, Moor Foundation, NASA, NEH, NIH, NIJ, NOAA, National Science Foundation (NSF), Sloan Foundation, US Dept. of Agriculture, US Dept. of Education, US Geological Survey. The tool also provides sample plans for reference to copy and build upon.

Miami researchers can submit a private draft of their work for professional review prior to submitting their grant proposal.

Most major funders are requiring data management plans to be included with grant applications. These one to two page documents detail how the principal investigators will collect, manage, process, store and disseminate data collected or created by their project. A driving factor for funders is to encourage dissemination and sharing of research data subsidized by their grant.

To help grant applicants achieve Data Management Plan requirements, Research & Sponsored Programs and Miami University Libraries have established a collaborative partnership. Researchers consult with a data or metadata librarian about best practices for data management. This prepares them for writing the data management portion of their grant application and along with the DMPTool guidance, assures that the plans follow existing guidelines and standards.

The Miami University Libraries also offers and encourages researchers to store their data (along with associated metadata) in the data repository section of The Miami Scholarly Commons – our university’s preservation system for scholarly works.

These services are offered free of charge by the Libraries, requiring no additional budget line for data management.