The Data Management Plan (DMP) outlines the ways in which data is collected, generated and/or processed throughout the lifespan of a research project. As part of the European Commission’s goal to advance Open Science policy and practices – it is a mandatory component in Horizon Europe that all projects involving data include a DMP. Practically speaking, an initial DMP should be presented in the proposal. Later on, funded projects are required to provide a detailed DMP as a mandatory deliverable within 6 months from the grant signature date. One should also provide budget resources to cover curation and storage preservation costs (see below)
An initial Data Management Plan (to be drafted at proposal stage)
A concise DMP should be presented as part of the Horizon Europe project’s proposal. Overall, it should briefly cover the type of data/research outputs, the compliance with the FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), and the way in which data will be stored and preserved. Below is a suggested template that can be used for this purpose (insert your data where necessary):
- Data summary – The type[s] of data that will be used in the project is[are] [insert the types of data that will be used such as experimental, observational, images, text]. The estimated size of the data is [insert data size]. The project will [collect/re-use existing/collect and re-use existing] data. The origins of the data will be [insert where data will be collected from and/or the origins of the re-used dataset].
- FAIR management of data – The data of the project will comply with the FAIR data principles. The data will be accessible through the use of [insert any identifiers or repositories that will be used] and through [insert information on Open Access, as well as access provisions and IPR arrangements where relevant]. To make data interoperable, [insert information on standards, formats and vocabularies for data and metadata] will be used. The re-usability of the data will be available through [insert information about licensing for data sharing and tools/software/models for data generation and validation/interpretation /re-use].
- Curation and storage/preservation costs – [insert the person/entity/team that will be responsible for data management] will be responsible for the data management and quality assurance. The estimated curation and storage costs are [insert estimated costs].
You can also download Data Management Plan template here https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/temp-form/report/data-management-plan-template_he_en.docx