NIH Data Sharing Policy

The Final NIH Statement on Sharing Research Data, NOT-OD-03-032 (Release Date: February 26, 2003; Effective Date: October 1, 2003) applies to applicants seeking $500,000 or more in direct costs in any year of the proposed research. As stated on the NIH Data Sharing Information page, the purpose of the policy is to expedite the translation of research results into knowledge, products, and procedures to improve human health. The NIH Data Sharing Policy and Implementation Guidance page provides the following guidelines on what to include in an NIH application:

The precise content of the data-sharing plan will vary, depending on the data being collected and how the investigator is planning to share the data. Applicants who are planning to share data may wish to describe briefly the expected schedule for data sharing, the format of the final dataset, the documentation to be provided, whether or not any analytic tools also will be provided, whether or not a data-sharing agreement will be required and, if so, a brief description of such an agreement (including the criteria for deciding who can receive the data and whether or not any conditions will be placed on their use), and the mode of data sharing (e.g., under their own auspices by mailing a disk or posting data on their institutional or personal website, through a data archive or enclave). Investigators choosing to share under their own auspices may wish to enter into a data-sharing agreement.

Additional Information