• Published outputs: a policy on published outputs e.g. journal articles and conference papers
• Data: a datasets policy or statement on access to and maintenance of electronic resources
• Time limits: set timeframes for making content accessible or preserving research outputs
• Data plan: requirement to consider data creation, management or sharing in the grant application
• Access/sharing: promotion of OA journals, deposit in repositories, data sharing or reuse
• Long-term curation: stipulations on long-term maintenance and preservation of research outputs
• Monitoring: whether compliance is monitored or action taken such as withholding funds
• Guidance: best practice guides or curation support staff available to assist funded researchers
• Repository: provision of a repository to make published research outputs accessible
• Data centre: provision of a data centre to curate unpublished electronic resources or data

The AHRC has released a statement on open access to research outputs [external] in line with the RCUK position. The Council's policy on electronic resources [external] comprises a few clauses in the Research Funding Guide, last published November 2008 (particularly see sections on deposit of resources or datasets and self-archiving policy on p86).

POLICY STIPULATIONS

• Time Limits
  The AHRC provides expected timeframes for data release and availability: electronic resources must remain accessible for a minimum of three years after the end of the award and deposits to the Archaeology Data Service (ADS) [external] must be made within three months of project completion.
• Data Plan
  If applicants plan to create significant electronic resources, they are expected to complete a technical appendix at the proposal stage. This has six sections: project management of technical aspects; data development methods; infrastructural support; data preservation and sustainability; access; and copyright and IPR issues.
• Access/Data Sharing
  The AHRC requires all research outputs to be made available in an accessible repository. Electronic resources need to remain available for at least three years.
• Long-term curation
  The details required by the technical appendix cover data creation and sustainability, however there is not a specific mandate to preserve apart from in the case of archaeology, where grant holders are expected to deposit resources with the ADS.
• Monitoring
  Compliance with the curation policy does not appear to be actively monitored, nor are penalties stated for failure to fulfil these requirements.

SUPPORT SERVICES

• Guidance
  Support and guidance for archaeology researchers is available through ADS [external], which provides assistance from the proposal stage, through creating sustainable resources to depositing them for long-term preservation. Legacy guidance materials, such as subject specific preservation handbooks [external], case studies and information papers [external] are still available through the AHDS web pages for other researchers. It should be noted these are not being updated so will lose currency.
• Repository
  A publications repository is not provided by the AHRC. Researchers are expected to make use of institutional and subject-based repositories available to them.
• Data Centre
  The AHRC provides a comprehensive data support service for archaeology researchers through the ADS. Such support for other researchers ceased with the end of funding for the Arts and Humanities Data Service (AHDS) in Spring 2008. The AHRC expects non-archaeology researchers to draw on other data centres and repositories to ensure continued access to research outputs for at least three years.

BBSRC has released a statement [external] on access to published research outputs, as well as an extensive Data Sharing Policy [external], which came into effect in April 2007. The Statement on Safeguarding Good Scientific Practice [external] acts as an overarching framework for these policies.

POLICY STIPULATIONS

• Time Limits
  Publications must be deposited at the earliest opportunity and data must be made available in a timely and responsible manner. Specific scientific areas have established best practice for release of data as noted in the BBSRC Data Sharing Policy [external]. Timely release would otherwise be considered as no later than the release of main findings through publication, or three years as a general guide. Data should be maintained for 10 years after project completion.
• Data Plan
  Researchers are required to submit a data sharing plan as part of the proposal. This may include details of: data areas, types and formats; standards and metadata; secondary use; methods for data sharing; and timeframes for release. Guidance on what to include is available under 'Data Sharing Areas' on p6 of the BBSRC Data Sharing Policy [external].
• Access/Data Sharing
  The Council actively promotes data sharing and encourages researchers to make material openly accessible, in suitably accessible formats using established standards. A publications repository and financial support for data sharing is available to facilitate sustained access.
• Long-term curation
  The coverage of the Data Sharing Policy and the Statement on Safeguarding Good Scientific Practice is testament to BBSRC's commitment to the entire lifecycle of research outputs. Researchers are expected to keep data securely for ten years after the end of a project through their institutions.
• Monitoring
  Adherence to the proposed data management and sharing plan will be monitored through the final report assessment procedure and may be taken into account when assessing future proposals.

SUPPORT SERVICES

• Guidance
  A main point of contact for data sharing queries is provided and the Council states it will provide guidance on existing standards, guidelines, databases and resources that may be relevant.
• Repository
  Repository support for publications and accompanying material is available through UK PubMed Central [external]
• Data Centre
  Repository support for data is not provided, however BBSRC recognises data sharing has time and cost implications, so funding for this can be requested as part of the full economic cost of a research project. The Council also supports the European Bioinformatics Institute [external].

EPSRC has recently mandated open-access publication of research [external] that it funds. Further details will be provided shortly but for the moment the Council links through to the joint RCUK statement. The Council does not have a data policy as yet, however a few stipulations on maintaining data are made in the Guide to Good Practice in Science and Engineering Research [external]. EPSRC is currently developing policies on maintaining research outputs.

POLICY STIPULATIONS

• Time Limits
  The only time constraint stipulated by EPSRC at present is that data should be securely stored for an appropriate time. The Council's agreement with the RCUK statement also suggests that publications should be deposited in an accessible repository at the earliest opportunity, preferably at or around the time of publication.
• Data Plan
  EPSRC does not require researchers to provide a statement on data management or sharing as part of the application process.
• Access/Data Sharing
  EPSRC is 'strongly committed to the principles outlined in the RCUK position statement on access to research outputs' and expects its funded researchers to make publications [external] available. According to research conducted by the RIN, the Council considers that the discipline areas it covers do not have so much need for data sharing, and that in most cases a journal publication summarising results is sufficient without providing access to the original dataset. (See p61 in Research Funders Policies for the management of information outputs [external].) The position with respect to data sharing may be revised in the planned data policy.
• Long-term curation
  No stipulations are made regarding long-term curation of research outputs, aside from a principle of good scientific practice being to securely store primary data for an 'appropriate' period. The fact that much of the data the Council funds could potentially be recreated in the future may underlie this current position.
• Monitoring
  Adherence with EPSRC's curation requirements does not appear to be monitored.

SUPPORT SERVICES

• Guidance
  As the EPSRC's policy regarding information outputs is minimal, little guidance or support appears to be offered by the Council.
• Repository
  No repository support is provided for publications or data. It is expected researchers will utilise the institutional or subject-based repositories available to them.
• Data Centre
  The responsibility to securely store data falls to the institution awarded the grant, however EPSRC does provide support to the European Bioinformatics Institute [external] so bioinformatics data could be added to community resources maintained there.

The ESRC has released a statement on open access of published research [external] and the current datasets policy is incorporated as an appendix in the Research Funding Guide [external]. The original, more extensive Data Policy [external] is currently under review, and will apparently be widened in scope to include more than data under the new title Research Resources Policy.

POLICY STIPULATIONS

• Time Limits
  Grant holders are expected to deposit publications in the ESRC Social Sciences Repository at the earliest opportunity and data must be offered to the ESDS based at the UKDA within three months of the end of the award.
• Data Plan
  ESRC require applicants to consider what outputs will be created at the proposal stage and how these will be made available in the long-term. Five questions [external] covering a survey of existing data, plans for archiving and potential users should be covered.
• Access/Data Sharing
  Researchers are expected to make all outputs accessible as soon as possible. ESRC provides a publications repository and data service to facilitate this.
• Long-term curation
  The Council's commitment to long-term curation is displayed through the repository and data services it supports. Researchers are expected to seek guidance and follow best practice to ensure outputs are created and maintained appropriately.
• Monitoring
  ESRC states it will monitor compliance with its policies. The final payment of a grant will be withheld if data has not been deposited to the required standard, unless a waiver of deposit has been agreed in advance.

SUPPORT SERVICES

• Guidance
  The ESRC offer extensive support to researchers creating digital records, via the ESDS. ESDS staff will assist from the application process, throughout the project to final deposit and reuse. Various guides [external] are available through its data centre and a helpdesk is run.
• Repository
  The ESRC runs a Social Sciences Repository [external] to record various awards and outputs and provide a place for grant holders to deposit their publications.
• Data Centre
  Time can be set aside within the grant and funding requested for the preparation of data for deposit. Data will be preserved in the long-term by the UKDA [external].

The MRC has released a position statement [external] in support of open and unrestricted access to published research in line with the RCUK position. It also has a brief policy [external] on data sharing and preservation. Detailed guidance on how to plan, conduct and record research is available through the Council's Good Research Practice guide. [external]

POLICY STIPULATIONS

• Time Limits
  The MRC expects publications to be made openly accessible as soon as possible and in any event within six months of the journal publisher's official date of final publication. Data should be made available in a timely and responsible manner, and securely maintained for a minimum of ten years after completion of the research. A limited defined period of exclusive use of data for primary research is reasonable.
• Data Plan
  Applicants are expected to consider the future of their resources at the proposal stage through completion of a data sharing and preservation strategy. This should include a summary of the type of data to be generated, foreseeable research uses, and plans for preparing and documenting data for preservation for sharing. Applicants requesting funds to extend existing data sets should also explain how this adds value and how sharing would provide opportunities for coordination or collaboration. Guidance on what to include in the plan is available online with the data policy [external] and in a FAQ produced with the DCC.
• Access/Data Sharing
  The MRC is a clear proponent of the open access and data sharing movement. It expects publications to be made available promptly and encourages researchers to make data available with as few restrictions as possible.
• Long-term curation
  Stipulations on long-term curation and preservation of research outputs are made in the data policy and Good Research Practice guide [external]. Recommendations are provided on gathering, recording and storing the data.
• Monitoring
  It does not appear compliance with MRC's open access or data sharing policies is monitored as yet.

SUPPORT SERVICES

• Guidance
  The MRC is provides support to researchers through data sharing toolkits and best practice guides [external]. A data support service is also being developed at present.
• Repository
  Researchers are provided with the UK PubMed Central repository [external] as a means to provide centralised access to their published research.
• Data Centre
  The MRC encourages curation and long-term management of its research outputs and will provide funds for preservation. The onus is on the Principal Investigator and his/her institution as a supporting preservation infrastructure is not yet offered, though a data support service is in development. The MRC also provides support for EBI [external].

NERC has released a position statement [external] on access to published research. As with the other research councils, this is in line with the RCUK statement. NERC also has an extensive data policy [external], which is currently under review.

POLICY STIPULATIONS

• Time Limits
  Publications resulting from NERC funding must be deposited at the earliest opportunity and data must be offered after a 'reasonable period' of exclusive use.
• Data Plan
  Researchers are expected to consider aspects of data creation and management prior to beginning research. A data plan should describe the dataset to be created and related documentation, establish intellectual ownership, and consider how the data will be stored, backed up, archived, accessed and reused. Roles and responsibilities for each stage of the lifecycle should also be assigned. Overarching data plans will be produced for each thematic programme along the lines of the British Atmospheric Data Centre's Data Management Plans - What They Should Contain template [PDF].
• Access/Data Sharing
  Publications and data must be made accessible through repositories and NERC's data centres. Minimum quality standards are enforced to ensure data can be reused and understood by third parties.
• Long-term curation
  Long-term curation is central to NERC and an extensive support infrastructure [external] is in place to facilitate this.
• Monitoring
  Compliance with the policy on publications may be considered in future applications. Note is not made of whether compliance with the data policy will be checked.

SUPPORT SERVICES

• Guidance
  Guidance for researchers on data creation and management is provided through the specialist data centres.
• Repository
  To improve access to published outputs, NERC has established a centralised e-print research repository [external].
• Data Centre
  The NERC data centres support long-term curation of environmental data holdings. Access to all NERC funded data is facilitated through an integrated, searchable catalogue [external].

A statement on access to published research outputs is available within STFC's Research Grants Handbook [external]. As yet, no formal data policy has been produced by the Council, though a degree of curation appears to continue through channels established by CCLRC and PPARC.

POLICY STIPULATIONS

• Time Limits
  Researchers are expected to make publications that stem from STFC-funded research available at the earliest opportunity. No time limits are specified for data.
• Data Plan
  STFC does not appear to require a statement on data management or sharing. Plans that formalise ownership and agree distribution mechanisms were required by PPARC at the proposal stage, however it is unclear to what extent this is still required.
• Access/Data Sharing
  Researchers are expected to make published outputs accessible. Data produced by STFC-funded researchers is often made available, however a formal requirement to do so does not appear to be in place.
• Long-term curation
  The Council does not have a formal policy covering long-term curation at present, however the recently released strategy consultation document [external] notes it is a priority to continue maintaining appropriate data stores (see section 2.4.1.6, p44), showing a commitment to sustained access.
• Monitoring
  It is not clear whether compliance with STFC's open access policy will be monitored

SUPPORT SERVICES

• Guidance
  Best practice guides for researchers creating and maintaining digital material were not found on the STFC website, though some assistance may be provided informally through the data centres.
• Repository
  An e-Publications archive [external] is run by the Council to collate and make its published research accessible.
• Data Centre
  Several data centres and research portals are in place for unpublished research and data, such as the UK Solar System Data Centre, the Chemical Database Service and the Diamond Data Portal. These are generally organised on a subject basis rather than serving the outputs of the whole council, and it seems deposit is ad hoc.

The Wellcome Trust has both a statement on open access of research outputs [external] and a brief policy regarding data management and sharing [external]. A very thorough Q&A [external] on how to comply with the data policy is also provided. The Trust's Guidelines on Good Research Practice [external] provide details of the standards of research conduct expected of funded researchers.

POLICY STIPULATIONS

• Time Limits
  Certain time limits are stipulated for both publications and research data. Published outputs should be deposited as soon as possible, and in any event within six months of final publication. As an absolute minimum, researchers should make relevant data available to others on publication of their research however opportunities for timely and responsible pre-publication sharing of data should also be maximised. Research institutions are also required to maintain data securely for a minimum of ten years.
• Data Plan
  Researchers are required to submit a plan for data management and sharing in cases where a resource of benefit to the research community is planned, or a significant quantity of data that could potentially be shared is likely to be generated. The guidance indicates that these plans should, where relevant to the proposed research, take account of five areas: data quality and standards; use of public data repositories; intellectual property; protection of research participants; and long-term preservation and sustainability. Additional guidance on what to include is available in the Trust's Q&A sheet [external] on the data policy.
• Access/Data Sharing
  The Wellcome Trust actively promotes open access to research publications resulting from its funded research. The Trust provides additional funding to institutions to cover open access charges and requires researchers make publications available through PubMed Central and UK PubMed Central. Researchers are also expected to maximise the availability of research data with as few restrictions as possible.
• Long-term curation
  The Trust's Guidelines on Good Research Practice [external] encourage appropriate creation and maintenance of research resources. Institutions are expected to have guidelines setting out responsibilities and procedures for the appropriate storage and disposal of data and samples.
• Monitoring
  Compliance with the open access policy on published research outputs is monitored, as is access to major resources. The Trust does not actively monitor data sharing on grants across the board.

SUPPORT SERVICES

• Guidance
  The Wellcome Trust has provided an excellent guide on how to comply with its data policy [external], but does not appear to have made many other sources of guidance or best practice available to assist researchers in creating high quality and reusable data.
• Repository
  A repository for published research outputs is provided through UK PubMed Central [external].
• Data Centre
  As yet no data curation facilities are provided. Responsibility here falls to the institutions in which Wellcome Trust funded researchers are based. The Trust also supports the European Bioinformatics Institute [external].