NSF Funding Policy for Open Science Data [CNC-CODATA] FW: New NSF Data Management Info from Engineering Directorate

[Tracey P. Lauriault]

This NSF policy is a really big deal (Report url below).

For open data to become a reality in the world of research, in both the physical and social sciences, there requires a strong incentive for scientists to do so.  Access to funding is a pretty good way to do it.  Of course, having an open access publishing environment/culture and an infrastructure to to manage these data are also critical.

In Canada for instance, the only publicly funded science research that has a comparable practice to the best of my knowledge was the International Polar Year (IPY) Research and The Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR).  IPY includes a data management plan (http://www.ipy-api.gc.ca/pg_IPYAPI_055-eng.html) while at a glance it looks like the CIHR DRAFT policy requires that the data used as part of a peer review article should be made available (http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/32326.html).  SSHRC and NSERC do not have such a policy.  Nor do other federal research funding shops like HRSDC, Industry Canada, Health Canada, CMHC, NRCan, Enviroment Can. etc.  In Canada publicly funded science does not re-disseminate its data nor its findings necessarily to the public.  Science results maybe & do get published in papers, however, the sharing of the data that were used in those publications do not necessarily get shared unless it is the practice of the journal publishing these data.  

In addition, Library and Archives of Canada (LAC) do not archive the results of publicly funded research, let alone the data, and there are few trusted digital repositories (none certified really) in major universities that currently ingest data from their faculty in a comprehensive way.  The funding agencies do no manage these either.  That means that data gathered today are not necessarily available for sharing tomorrow let alone can they be readily re-purposed in other research. 

The NSF report is available here: http://nsf.gov/eng/general/ENG_DMP_Policy.pdf

From the report:

Goal

Provide for clear, effective, and transparent implementation of NSF policy for data management and dissemination:

(1) By requiring inclusion of a Data Management Plan (DMP) in proposals submitted to the Engineering Directorate (ENG);

(2) By stating data-management expectations to help principal investigators compose their plans and to help reviewers evaluate them.

Reasons

NSF policy is summarized in the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide:

Investigators are expected to share with other researchers, at no more than incremental cost and within a reasonable time, the primary data … created or gathered in the course of work under NSF grants.

>From http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=gpg

, Section VI.D.4.b.

The full policy specifically requires prompt preparation and submission of publications, recognizes allowances for restricting release of privileged or proprietary information, encourages sharing of software and inventions, and recognizes intellectual property rights. Such dissemination of data is necessary for the community to stimulate new advances as quickly as possible and to allow prompt evaluation of the results by the scientific community.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Zborowski, Mary <[hidden email]>
Date: Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 9:58 AM
Subject: [CNC-CODATA] FW: New NSF Data Management Info from Engineering Directorate
To: CNC/CODATA Communications <[hidden email]>

Apologies for cross-posting,

 

Mary

 

From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Lake, Sherry (sah)
Sent: September 1, 2010 8:51 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [esi] New NSF Data Management Info from Engineering Directorate

 

For those of us working on a Data Management Plan for our researchers, I ran across this yesterday. Hopefully, other NSF Directorates will follow with similar plans.

 

Data Management Plan for ENG Proposals

August 12, 2010

Beginning in January 2011 (actual implementation date to be announced), a Data Management Plan (DMP) will be required for all new NSF proposals. FastLane will be updated to enable its upload as a separate Supplementary Document. Proposals that do not include the requisite DMP will be stopped from submission. Specific guidance will be included in an upcoming revision to the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide.  Please note, the Engineering Directorate (ENG) will have additional guidance for proposals submitted to ENG programs,  http://nsf.gov/eng/general/ENG_DMP_Policy.pdf.  Detailed instructions, including responses to Frequently Asked Questions will be provided at the time of implementation.  In the meantime, questions and/or suggestions about this new requirement may be addressed to Dr. Maria K. Burka at [hidden email]. 

 

Here’s the link: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=117468

 

 

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Sherry Lake                                              [hidden email]

Research Data and Metadata Specialist

Brown Science and Engineering Library   University of Virginia

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       "A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities

                  of life." --- Henry Ward Beecher

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Tracey P. Lauriault
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