Data Management Plan
A Data Management Plan (DMP) describes how research data is handled before the project has commenced, ensuring the traceability of data during the project and beyond. DMPs are often required in a formalized form when submitting a funding application or during the project period, for example with Horizon Europe, ERC grants. The DFG also asks for information on Data Management, although this is not explicitly a DMP.
You can create a DMP with MADataPlan, our instance of RDMO, a DMP tool that supports researchers at the University of Mannheim in creating, managing and storing DMPs.
DMPs and research funding in Germany and Europe
The DMP requirements differ depending on the funding institution within Germany and Europe (see below).
| Funding Institution | DMP Requirements | DMP template? |
Germany | ||
| German Research Foundation (DFG) | Not explicitly a DMP, but information on data management is usually required in section 2.4 of the application. There are also some subject-specific and program-specific recommendations on how to handle research data in grant applications, but researchers are not obligated to go further than the general guidance provided. See DFG Guidelines on the Handling of Research Data. | Yes (unofficially), available at MADataPlan. |
There are no general requirements with regard to research data. The requirements are defined individually for each tender. See Federal Ministry of Education and Research. | No | |
| Volkswagen Foundation | Yes, it is a requirement for research funding from the Volkswagen Stiftung that applicants submit a DMP with their application for funding. See Volkswagen Stiftung Open Science Policy (460 KB). | Yes (111 KB) |
No | No | |
No | No | |
No | No | |
Europe | ||
Yes, applicants must submit a DMP after the first 6 months of the funding period and must continuously update the DMP if significant changes occur, see ERC, Open Science, Section 2. Forschungsdaten in Horizon Europe. | Yes, template available on MADataPlan. | |
Yes, applicants must submit a DMP after the first 6 months of the funding period and must continuously update the DMP if significant changes occur, see Horizon Europe. | Yes, template available on MADataPlan. | |
No | No |
Adapted from CESSDA Training Team (2017 – 2022). CESSDA Data Management Expert Guide. Bergen, Norway: CESSDA ERIC. Table by: https://dmeg.cessda.eu/Data-Management-Expert-Guide/1.-Plan/European-diversity
You may also want to consider the data management standards in your own research field (e.g., Humanities, Social Sciences, Business and Economics) which might inform what you should include in your DMP, in which case, check out the following:
- Standardised Data Management Plan for Educational Research of the Research Data Education Network
- Research Data Management in the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences, Chapter 2
- Guidelines for Effective Data Management Plans of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
- DMP-Wizard by CLARIN-D, Humanities
- DMPtemplate of the EU project PARTHENOS, Humanities
Need some inspiration?
You can check out examples of DMPs from successful research applications by checking out the Digital Curation Center (DCC) here and get an idea of what reviewers might be looking for here (2.3 MB).
Applying for funding outside of Germany?
You can find out more information about DMP requirements for research funding applications abroad here.
