NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy Toolkit

A selection of guides, toolkits, and other resources for librarians working on addressing the 2026 NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy.

The NIH recently released a format update to its Data Management and Sharing Plan that is required for plans submitted after May 25, 2026 (see NOT-OD-26-046 for details).

In 2023, a group of data librarians collaborated to create implementation resources for researchers, librarians, and other research support professionals. In 2026, they reconvened to provide updates based on the new version of the policy. These resources can help you as you work to address this change. You can download the materials and keep up with any updated releases at the OSF project page: 2026 NIH Data Management and Sharing Plan Format Update.

Their resources include:

• Annotated Example Plan

• Mapping the 2023 Plan to 2026 Update

• Guidance on Repository Selection

• Materials for Librarians, including a powerpoint slide deck, checklist to give to researchers, and a list of updated LibGuides

Policy

• Updated Elements of an NIH Data Management and Sharing Plan
  • The updated Data Management and Sharing Elements documentation provides a list of 7 questions for researchers.
• Genomic Data Sharing Policy
  • The NIH is working on harmonizing the requirements of the DMS Policy with this existing Genomic Data Sharing Policy. Genomic data sharing considerations should be described in DMS Plans using the DMS Plan elements and will be reviewed by NIH Program Staff. More details can be found in NIH notices NOT-OD-22-198 and NOT-OD-22-029.

Data Management and Sharing Plans

• Writing a Data Management and Sharing Plan
  • Information provided by NIH about what needs to be included in a Data Management & Sharing Plan.
• The Data Management Plan Tool (DMPTool)
  • This is a free, open-source, online application that helps researchers create data management plans (DMPs). The tool in includes a template for the NIH DMSP and the DMPTool Blog provides up-to-date information on the DMPTool.
• Draft Data Management and Sharing Plan Template
  • Download a free fillable Word document from the NIH of the Data Management and Sharing Plan Format Page. 
• Sample Data Management Plan

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Data Sharing

• NNLM Data Repository Finder
  • This tool developed by the NNLM National Center for Data Services is meant to help locate NIH-supported repositories for sharing research data. Users can answer questions about their data to search for appropriate data repositories and compare the details of multiple repositories on the same page.
• NIH-Supported Data Sharing Resources
  • To help researchers locate an appropriate repository for sharing or accessing data, BMIC maintains lists of data sharing repositories.
• Accessing Scientific Data
  • ​​​​​​​Find information on and a list of NIH supported repositories for sharing and accessing scientific data..
• NIH STRIDES Initiative
  • ​​​​​​​NIH STRIDES aims to modernize biomedical research by reducing economic and process barriers in utilizing commercial cloud services. This is one of many NIH-wide efforts to implement the NIH Strategic Plan for Data Science, which provides a roadmap for modernizing the NIH-funded biomedical data science ecosystem.
• Resources for De-identification of Human Subjects Research Data
  • De-identified data may need to be shared to adhere to the new NIH DMS Policy. Johns Hopkins’ provides this list of suggested tools, including the NLM Scrubber for Clinical Text De-Identification.
• Joint FORCE11 & COPE Research Data Publishing Ethics Working Group Flowcharts
  • These charts help guide the handling of cases that may arise in relation to the publication of research data. You can read more about this resource from this blog post. 

Costs

• NIH Allowable Costs for Data Management and Sharing
  • ​​​​​​​This provides details on the types of data-related budgeting that can be included in the budget justification sections of grant applications.
• Forecasting Costs for Preserving, Archiving, and Promoting Access to Biomedical Data
  • ​​​​​​​NIH recommends reviewing this study in order to properly budget for data management and sharing costs.

Classes

• NCDS On Demand Webinars
  • ​​​​​​​This webinar series introduces the NIH requirements for data management and sharing, including “practitioner perspectives” – i.e., data librarians sharing their opportunities, barriers, methods, and successes as they work toward improving data management practices at their institutions.
• NNLM Research Data Management On Demand
  • ​​​​​​​If you would like to learn research data management in general, you can explore topics such as open science and data science, data curation and documentation, data security, storage and preservation, and data sharing and publishing in these classes that you can take at your own pace.

 Glossaries​​​​​​​

• Data Terms related to the NIH DMS Plan and Policy
  • ​​​​​​​This is a guide to terminology used in the NIH DMSP. It includes links to various resources for additional information.
• NNLM National Center for Data Services Data Glossary
  • ​​​​​​​This resource is created and maintained by the NCDS and connects and defines concepts, services, and tools relevant to librarians working in data-driven discovery.
• Research Data Management Terminology
  • The goal of this guide from the Committee on Data of the International Science Council is to gather the key terms needed for a common understanding of the research data management domain.
• Toolkit for Patient-Focused Therapy Development
  • ​​​​​​​The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences developed this glossary of terms related to rare disease communities in treatment development.