DMPonline is an online tool to help you write a data management plan (DMP) and manage your plans throughout a project. DMPonline contains most funders’ templates and guidance notes. It also contains two Uni.lu templates to help you plan and write a DMP, read more below. We welcome your feedback on these tools.

Uni.lu templates to help you plan and write a DMP
There are two Uni.lu templates to help you to plan or write a DMP, suitable for most projects, funded or unfunded. Both templates are available on DMPonline when you select the box ‘no funder associated…’ (you can select this even if you have a funder). A drop-down list will appear with the templates. You can also download the templates below if you wish to work with them outside of DMPonline. 

1. The Uni.lu generic DMP template with questions (Feb 2023). 
This generic template is based on the FNR national template for DMPs based on EU recommendations. It is therefore suitable for most projects. It is in question format, and you need to think about how to respond to the questions by thinking about the FAIR Principles (findable, accessible, interoperable and reproducible) and how they apply to each dataset you may use or generate in your research.

2. The Uni.lu FAIR data mapping template in table format (Oct 2023). 
This dynamic template is in table format (suitable for Excel for example) and forces you to consider each dataset in turn and how the FAIR principles apply (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) over a period of time. It helps you to recognise that data progresses through various stages of maturity, and this should be duly reflected in the plan. 

You can use the University FAIR data mapping for FNR projects (it has received approval). We have created some examples for different disciplines that we hope will inspire and guide you, we also provide links to sources that help you think about FAIR. These documents are available to download below.

Review of the DMP
Once you have written your DMP, it should be peer-reviewed by a more experienced researcher in your department, or the Principal Investigator (PI) for the project, and you can ask for help of your Research Facilitator(s).

Making data FAIR – as open as possible, as closed as necessary
During the consolidation phase, it is justifiable for only your research team to have access to the data. At the end of the project, or for example at the point of communicating project results, all data relevant to the community and linked to publications should be stored in trusted repositories. To make it findable, you can create a public metadata record on ORBilu for the dataset, and provide the permahandle link in your publications/websites.

Download documents

• Generic DMP Template
• FAIR data mapping Template

Access DMPonline
The first time you use DMPonline, create a username and password. (Do not use the University credentials feature for now.)

Questions
Direct any specific questions about RDM or DMPs to orbilu@uni.lu.

• DMPonline

Many funders now require researchers to create a DMP as part of grant applications, and update it throughout the project.  It is good practice to write a DMP for each project even if it is not publicly funded as you will need to think about your research data and the FAIR Principles throughout your project, and when you liaise with the Ethics Committee for your ethics applications, or the Legal team, where sensitive data or GDPR applies.

A DMP should be an evolving document in which information can be added as the project progresses, and when significant changes occur. It is good practice to establish a schedule for reviewing and updating a DMP in combination with project events e.g. funding approval, periodic reviews etc.

Be explicit in your consent forms about your plans to make data available, who will be able to access the data, and how the data would be accessed and potentially re-used. Consider that a DMP describes a story of your data; where you have sourced them, what they are, how you intend to use them, who will use them, where you may store them, who can access them, who you will share the final data with, how you intend to publish the data, and where they will be archived.

Data protection and ethics

Ethical guidelines issued by funders and the University cover how you can create, store, share and archive data concerning human subjects. In addition, laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), govern the processing of personal data.

Sensitive research data can sometimes be shared legally and ethically by using informed consent, anonymisation and controlled access. In order to do this, it is important to consider potential data sharing and re-use scenarios well before the ethics process and data collection. You will also consider this when you write your Ethics application and seek approval from the Data Protection Officer at the University.

Research ethics guidance is provided by the University’s Ethics Review Panel (ERP).

Any guidance with regards to legal requirements, data protection or GDPR is provided by the University’s Data Protection Office.

If you have data or a research output of social, environmental or commercial value, with intellectual property attached, or partnerships with industry or civil society, also contact the Office for Partnership, Knowledge and Technology Transfer at the University.

The Luxembourg Learning Centre offers support and training for using DMPonline, and support in relation to Open Science, Open Access publishing, and research discovery. Questions can be sent to orbilu@uni.lu

ELIXIR Luxembourg offers training in data management.

Any question about a funded project, or research standards and requirements, contact the Research Support Department.

If you are looking for the best practice to write information about the usage of Atlas data storage in the context of Research Projects and DMP, please have a look on the “Using Atlas for Research Projects” page stored on the Knowledge Portal.

If you wish to share your datasets from your research projects, select a compatible repository that uses recognised community standards. The catch-all repository is Zenodo (hosted by CERN). Repositories ensure that your data are indexed, discoverable and accessible (FAIR). You can also deposit the location of your datasets on ORBilu (read about datasets on the FAQ).

Search for a repository

Fairsharing   A curated, informative and educational resource on data and metadata standards, inter-related to databases and data policies

OpenAire Open Access Infrastructure for Research in Europe

Re3data A global registry of research data repositories from various academic disciplines.

Well known repositories

Dataverse Open source web application to share, preserve, cite, explore and analyse research data

Dryad Digital Repository International open-access repository of research data, especially data underlying scientific and medical publications

FigShare Open access international repository to preserve and share research outputs, including figures, datasets, images, and videos

Open Science Framework (OSF) Free and open source project management tool that supports researchers throughout their entire project lifecycle

Zenodo General-purpose open repository developed under the European OpenAIRE program and operated by CERN

Here is a list of further resources that may be useful to you.

All the links are external:

• Access DMPonline
• Access Example DMPs and guidance on DMPonline
• Checklist for a Data Management Plan (Digital Curation Centre) is a more comprehensive guide to DMPs
• Data repositories (OpenAire)
• FAIR Principles (Go Fair)
• How to Develop a Data Management and Sharing Plan (Digital Curation Centre) outlines background concepts and practical steps
• H2020 FAIR Data Management in Horizon 2020
• European Commission Open Science
• European Research Council
• FNR policy on data management
• Horizon Europe