Many research funders now require a data management plan (DMP) to be submitted in a grant proposal. Such plans set out how data will be handled during a project and how it will be shared with others. They are an invaluable tool to guide data management and should be amended as necessary as a project progresses.

There is a wealth of information and support about funder requirements and what to include in a DMP, as well as sample plans and tools to guide you through the process of creating your own DMP.

• Data Management Plans (http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/data-management-plans): a central resource from the Digital Curation Centre with links to funders’ requirements, DMPOnline for creating a plan, and a range of guidance.
• Funders’ requirements (http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/data-management-plans/funders-requirements)
• Data management plan: guidance for peer reviewers (http://www.esrc.ac.uk/_images/Data-Management-Plan-Guidance-for-peer-reviewers_tcm8-15569.pdf) from ESRC
• A checklist (http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/data-management-plans/checklist) of the main questions and themes to cover in your plan
• DMPOnline (http://dmponline.dcc.ac.uk/): an online tool for creating a data management plan.
• Recommended file formats (http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/manage-data/format/recommended-formats.aspx)