NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy

Overview

The NIH Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Policy (NOT-OD-21-013) took effect on January 25, 2023, requiring all NIH-funded researchers generating scientific data to submit a Data Management and Sharing Plan (DMSP) with their grant application and to make resulting scientific data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. The policy applies to all NIH-funded research, both intramural and extramural, that generates scientific data, regardless of funding level. It does not apply to research that does not generate scientific data (e.g. training grants, infrastructure development).

Key Requirements

• A two-page Data Management and Sharing Plan (DMSP) is required at submission for all applicable grants.
• Scientific data must be shared as broadly as possible, by the time of publication or no later than the end of the funded project.
• Data must be deposited in an established, publicly accessible repository.
• NIH-funded researchers should consider costs of data management and sharing in their budgets.
• Proprietary or sensitive data may be shared under controlled access with appropriate justification.

NIH Public Access Policy

Alongside the DMS Policy, the NIH Public Access Policy (2008, strengthened 2023) requires deposit of all NIH-funded peer-reviewed manuscripts in PubMed Central (PMC) upon acceptance, with open access no later than 12 months after publication. From December 31, 2025, the embargo is eliminated and immediate open access is required for all new awards, aligning with the White House OSTP memo of August 2022.

Domain-Specific Implementation

Several NIH institutes have domain-specific data repositories that implement the DMS Policy. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) uses the Genomic Data Commons. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) uses BioData Catalyst. NIMH funds the NIMH Data Archive and OpenNeuro as neuroimaging repositories.

Resources

• https://sharing.nih.gov/data-management-and-sharing-policy (DMS Policy overview)
• https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-21-013.html (NOT-OD-21-013 full text)
• https://sharing.nih.gov/sites/default/files/flmngr/NIH-DMS-Guidance.pdf (DMS Policy guidance)
• https://sharing.nih.gov/data-management-and-sharing-policy/planning-and-budgeting-DMS/writing-a-data-management-and-sharing-plan (DMSP guidance)
• https://publicaccess.nih.gov (NIH Public Access Policy)