ELIXIR-UK expands Data Management Planning support with templates and practical examples

ELIXIR-UK has released a new suite of resources to help researchers create practical, machine-actionable Data Management Plans (DMPs) – including ready-to-use templates and real-world, citable examples from UK-based projects.

Developed through the BioFAIR project and the ELIXIR-UK DaSH (a Data Stewardship Fellowship), these resources support researchers, data stewards, data managers, and other technical professionals in building DMPs that are both compliant with funder requirements and actionable across the entire research lifecycle.

The initiative includes a set of custom templates within the Data Stewardship Wizard (DSW), aligned with UKRI and BBSRC’s data sharing policy. The templates are tailored for complex research contexts, including collaborative grants and national infrastructure projects, enabling structured and machine-actionable planning.

A growing library of real-world DMP examples from UK-based projects has also been made available. Each is archived and citable via Zenodo, offering a practical and accessible use case library to support hands-on implementation.  These examples are particularly valuable because they are authored by people who work directly with research teams – data stewards and managers who apply DMPs daily and understand their real-world challenges and value.

“Templates are critical, but templates alone are not enough. Having a diverse collection of real examples written by data stewards helps researchers get to grips with what good planning looks like in their own field, making this process more efficient and more meaningful.”

Robert Andrews (Cardiff University), lead of this DMP work and Data Management co-lead at ELIXIR-UK

This work is the result of a national collaboration involving Cardiff University, Oxford Brookes University, University of Manchester, University of Birmingham, University of Edinburgh, University of Oxford, University College London and Rothamsted Research, as well as close collaboration with the DSW team. It reflects a shared commitment to making data management more accessible, consistent and embedded in UK life sciences research.

To further illustrate how DMPs and tools like DSW are used in real research contexts, ELIXIR-UK members have also published a series of FAIRytales – short, narrative blog-style case studies showing how researchers and institutions are embedding better data management into their daily work.

It also supports ELIXIR-UK’s broader contributions to RDMkit, capacity building, and training efforts across the ELIXIR network, helping researchers meet the growing expectations of funders, journals, and institutions for responsible and transparent data practices.

Explore the DMP templates and example library:
elixiruknode.org/data-management-planning-in-life-sciences-research

Explore the FAIRytales:
https://elixiruknode.org/blog/