How to create a data management plan (DMP)?
Step 1
Get involved with data management planning and data management plans (DMPs)
You have just heard about DMPs and now want to write your own? If you have never considered data management planning before, it might be good to get some general information.
Data management planning is the starting point in the data life cycle (DLC). Data management plans (DMPs) are ideally established at this point. But a DMP is not only created at the beginning of a project, it is a living document, and you should return to it at each step of the data life cycle. Ideally, the DMP should be revisited often throughout the lifetime of a project to ensure proper data documentation and management. You can think of a DMP as an addition to the data policy of a larger umbrella project.
Have a look at our training materials, in which you can find fact sheets and education modules: GFBio_Emodule_Propose_151123 (PPT) on data management planning and other aspects of the data life cycle. Also have a look at the best-practices linked in our training materials.
In the following steps, you will learn about the most important aspects of data management planning and get in touch with the GFBio Data Management Plan Tool (DMPT). You can continue reading the How-To with or without using the DMPT in parallel.
The GFBio DMPT contains the most important questions which you should ask when starting with data management planning and is based on the DFG Guidelines on the Handling of Research Data in Biodiversity Research. It does not provide a ready-to-use DMP which you can just attach to your project proposal. Please use our personal DMP support (you will find a button at the end of the tool) to contact our experts.