Data Management Planning
Introduction
Data management planning defines measures to be undertaken at every step of the data lifecycle to ensure transparency and reproducibility of research. Data management planning starts from the creation and/or collection of data, followed by their analysis, publication, storage, sharing, preservation and reuse. Together, all these steps are documented in a Data Management Plan in advance.
Data Management Plans
ETH Zurich expects Data Management Plans (DMPs) for projects with clear temporal boundaries (see RDM Guidelines). Moreover, many funding agencies require the completion of a DMP as a prerequisite for release of funds as well as for the start of the project. The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has published external page guidelines for DMPs. Researchers are obliged to submit a DMP for projects that have been selected for funding by the SNSF and DMP submission is considered a condition to request the release of funds. These DMPs must comply with the external page SNSF’s policy on Open Research Data. DMPs are also mandatory in the funding program of external page Horizon Europe.
ETH Library, jointly with the external page EPFL Library and external page DLCM project partners, prepared a step-by-step instruction document for completing DMPs for SNSF proposals. You can access the document here: DLCM template. For projects without explicit funder requirements, ETH library provides a general template and corresponding instructions that take into account the conditions at ETH Zurich. There are also external page DMP guidelines from the Swiss Personalized Health Network (SPHN) for projects that are dealing with health-related data.
For users of the external page openBIS data management system at ETH Zurich, Scientific IT Services has prepared an openBIS DMP template (PDF, 63 KB) for SNSF grant applications with pre-filled answers related to data storage, backup and preservation.
These documents are intended exclusively as supporting tools and must be adapted to each individual project. The SNSF’s guidelines are binding and its external page FAQs are continuously updated.
Further information and support on the topic of Data Management Plans can be found in the external page SNSF's guidance document and on the Data management webpage of the Research Data Management and Digital Curation team at ETH Library.
Advice on preparing a DMP
Do you need assistance in the preparation of your own data management plan? The and we will provide feedback to you within a few working days.
We regularly organize courses and workshops on research data management, which include information on DMPs for SNSF grant applications. For more details and dates, please check the News and Events section. Such courses can also be arranged on demand for groups of at least five participants.