European diversity

Data management requirements in Europe

There are many different local, national and international DMP templates and tools that you can use to create a DMP for your own research project. At this stage, it might be good for you to check for templates or tools that best fit your own specific situation. You can ask at your university or department whether they have a DMP template. Or maybe your research funder requires a DMP in a specific format.

In the accordion below we sum up European diversity in funder requirements on Data Management Planning and provide links to DMP templates if they are available.

EU

EU funding institution	DMP requirements	DMP template?
Horizon2020	At grant submission Projects that take part in the Horizon 2020 Open Research Data Pilot (default all H2020 projects) are required to produce a DMP as a deliverable within six months of the start of the project. The DMP should include information on: the handling of research data during and after the end of the project what data will be collected, processed and/or generated which methodology and standards will be applied whether data will be shared/made open access and how data will be curated and preserved (including after the end of the project). During the project The plan must be updated whenever significant changes arise, for instance (but not only) when there are: new data changes in consortium policies (e.g. new innovation potential, decision to file for a patent) changes in consortium composition and external factors (e.g. new consortium members joining or old members leaving). See 'Guidelines on FAIR data management' (European Commission, 2016).	Yes, via DMPOnline (Digital Curation Centre, 2017)
European Science Foundation	No	No
European Research Council	No See 'Guidelines on the Implementation of Open Access to Scientific Publications and Research Data in projects supported by the European Research Council under Horizon 2020' (European Research Council, 2017).	Template (European Research Council, n.d.)

Austria

Austrian funding institution	DMP requirements	DMP template
Austrian Science Fund (FWF)	Yes, at project start	Yes, (FWF 2022 DMT Template)
Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)	No	No
Anniversary Fund of the Osterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB Jubiläumsfonds)	No	No
Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF)	No	No
Austrian Academy of Sciences	No	No

Belgium

Belgian funding institution	DMP requirements	DMP template
Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek	Yes	Yes, applicants should provide detailed information following the requirements described here: https://www.fwo.be/en/the-fwo/organisation/data-management-plan/
Federal State – Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO)	Pending	Pending
Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles – Fonds de la Recherche scientifique (F.R.S.-FNRS)/Federation Wallonia-Brussels – Fund for Scientific Research	No	No
Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles – Direction générale de l’Enseignement supérieur, de l’Enseignement tout au long de la vie et de la Recherche scientifique (DGESVR)/Federation Wallonia-Brussels– Directorate General of Higher Education, Lifelong Education, and Scientific Research	No	No
Vlaamse Overheid – Departement Economie, Wetenschap & Innovatie (EWI)/Government of Flanders – Department of Economy, Science, and Innovation	No	No

Croatia

Croatian funding institution	DMP requirements	DMP template
Croatian Science Foundation	No	No

Czech Republic

Czech funding institution	DMP requirements	DMP template?
Czech Science Foundation	Yes	No
Technology Agency of the Czech Republic	Yes	No
Ministry of Education Youth and Sports - R&D support programmes	Yes	No
Operational Programme Research, Development and Education (EU Funds, managed at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports)	Yes	No
Ministry of Culture - Applied research programmes	Yes	No

Finland

Finnish funding institution	DMP requirements	DMP template?
The Academy of Finland	Highly recommended. The Academy of Finland requires that the data management plan is made using the DMP tool DMPTuuli.	Yes, via DMPTuuli (2017)
Business Finland	Highly recommended.	Yes, via DMPTuuli (2017)
The Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies	Highly recommended.	Recommends a DMP based on the requirements of the Finnish Academy See 'best practices' (Academy of Finland, 2022)
Kone Foundation	Highly recommended.	No, but see more information Koneen Säätiö (n.d)
The Finnish Work Environment Fund	Highly recommended.	No

Germany

German funding institution	DMP requirements	DMP template?
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)	There is a general recommendation, but not a requirement. Requirements may be (and are) made on an individual program level. See DFG Guidelines on the Handling of Research Data (n.d.).	No
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF)	There are no general requirements. Requirements are made on a "per call" basis (some calls have requirements, others don't). See Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (n.d.).	No
Volkswagen Stiftung	No	No
Fritz-Thyssen-Stiftung	No	No
Hans-Böckler-Stiftung	No	No

The Netherlands

Dutch funding institution	DMP requirements	DMP template?
NWO	Yes, both at grant submission and when the grant has been awarded.	Yes, see Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (2020)
KNAW	Yes, both at grant submission and when the grant has been awarded.	No, but for more information see Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen (n.d.)
ZonMw	At grant submission information on whether data will be reused or collected needs to be provided. Also, a final DMP is required when the grant has been awarded.	Yes, see ZonMW (n.d.)

Also, you may want to have a look at the overview of DMP templates used by Dutch universities (Landelijk Coördinatiepunt Research Data Management (2017)).

North Macedonia

North Macedonia funding institution	DMP requirements	DMP template
Ministry of education and science of North Macedonia	No	No

Norway

Norwegian funding institution	DMP requirements	DMP template?
Research council of Norway	Starting in 2018, all Research Council-funded projects that generate data will as a general rule need to have a data management plan (DMP).	Yes
SkatteFUNN	Yes, during the project	No

The Research Council of Norway published their revised policy in December 2017, announcing that DMP requirements will be incorporated into calls for proposals starting in 2018. The main rule is that all Research Council-funded research projects that generate data must have a DMP. The DMP should be a living document that is updated throughout the project period, and should cover: which data are to be generated, how the data are to be described, where the data will be stored and whether and how they may be shared. The plan should be made public. The DMPs must be in place when projects submit their revised grant applications, but they will not be part of the Research Council’s application review process.
The institutions are responsible for determining how they will provide access to the data. Under certain circumstances, the Research Council will require storage of the data in specific national or international archives (e.g. at NSD - Norwegian Centre for Research Data).

Serbia

Serbian funding institution	DMP requirements	DMP template?
Ministarstvo prosvete, nauke i tehnološkog razvoja Republike Srbije (Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia), Fond za nauku Republike Srbije (Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia)	No	No

Slovenia

Slovenian funding institution	DMP requirements	DMP template?
Slovenian Research Agency	No	No

Sweden

Swedish funding institution	DMP requirements	DMP template?
Formas	No	No
Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ)	No	No
Forte	No	No
Vetenskapsrådet (VR)	No	No
Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation	No	No
Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation	No	No
Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Foundation	No	No
Stint	No	No

In Sweden, good data management is considered a key component for open access to research data, as well as a foundation for FAIR data. For the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet, VR), a data management plan is a requirement for an approved application for funding, for all applications as of 2019. Other national public research funding bodies also require data management plans in new calls for applications. This applies to Formas, Forte, and Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, which require a DMP to be set up when funding is granted.

VR has appointed a national reference group, consisting of researchers, representatives for universities, archives, libraries, and research funding bodies, to collaborate on the work on data management plans. The national reference group has four working groups. These groups address concepts and definitions, stakeholders, DMP users, and specifications for a national tool for data management plans. Work is already in progress for a national DMP tool, and the plan is to implement a first “light” version of the tool in December 2019.

The Swedish National Data Service provides a guide and a checklist for a data management plan.

Some universities across Sweden have, on their websites, recommendations on using SND’s checklist or other organisations’ DMP tools.

Switzerland

Swiss funding institution	DMP requirements	DMP template?
The Swiss National Science Foundation	Yes, as of October (2017), data management plans are an integral part of project funding applications submitted to the SNSF. The data management plans do not need to be finalised by the submission deadline. The submitted DMP is considered a notice of intention. It is a requirement for any transfer of funding. Researchers are encouraged to adapt its contents as the project evolves. A final version must be made available at the end of the grant and will then been made available on the SNSF’s P3 database. See the Guidelines for researchers (SNF, 2017).	Yes, see Data Management Plan (SNF, 2017)

UK

UK funding institution	DMP requirements	DMP template?
Wellcome Trust	At grant submission A DMP should be provided for grant applications for projects that aim to create a database resource or will generate significant datasets that could be shared. For such an application, you need to include: The data outputs your research will generate When you intend to share your data Where your data will be made available How your data will be accessible to others Whether limits to data sharing are required How key datasets will be preserved Resources required See 'Developing an outputs management plan' (Wellcome (n.d.))	Yes, via DMP Online (Digital Curation Centre, 2017)
Economic and Social Research Council	Yes, at grant submission. See the ESRC Research Data Policy (ESRC, n.d.)	Yes, via DMPOnline (Digital Curation Centre, 2017)
Cancer Research UK	Yes, at grant submission	Yes (Cancer Research (n.d.)
Department for International Development	Yes, at grant submission	Yes (Department of International Development (2013))

Open Data and Open Science policies in Europe

For a snapshot of various Open Data and Open Science policies, as they currently stand throughout Europe, you can have a look at this living report (SPARCEurope & Digital Curation Centre, 2017).

Table of Contents