Policies and guidelines

There are now numerous policies and guidelines on the handling of research data from the various research funding organisations and other organisations and initiatives. Funding organisations increasingly expect these guidelines to be adhered to and implemented when carrying out research projects. We therefore recommend that all applicants familiarise themselves with the relevant guidelines and formulate concrete statements on their implementation in their (full) proposal.

Friedrich Schiller University Jena

A guideline on the handling of research data and a recommendation for action on research data management were adopted by the university's senate in 2016. The policy on the handling of research datapdf, 170 kb · de provides an initial introduction to the topic of research data management, while the Guidelines and recommendation for action on research data managementpdf, 316 kb · de supplements and concretises the principles introduced in the policy.

Since July 2023, the university's statutes on safeguarding good research practice have also included statements on research data and software that correspond to the DFG Code mentioned below.

German Research Foundation (DFG)

In July 2019, the DFG published the "Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Research Practice"External link code. It is a fundamental revision and replaces the memorandum "Safeguarding good research practice" from 1998. The code consists of 19 guidelines, many of which are relevant to the handling of research data and software. The guidelines on handling research dataExternal link, which were adopted by the Senate of the DFG in September 2015, serve as a supplement. The DFG's "Handling Research Data"External link website offers a comprehensive compilation of principles, support services and funding opportunities. A checklist for handling research dataExternal link (as of December 2021) and subject-specific recommendations for some disciplines can also be found there. Information on the handling of research data is mandatory in DFG funding proposals.

European Commission - Horizon Europe

The Horizon Europe framework programme is the European Commission's funding programme for research and innovation in the European Union (EU) until 2027. It follows the EU framework programme Horizon 2020. Horizon Europe requires immediate free access to publications that have undergone a peer-review process. Embargo periods are no longer envisaged.

Free access to research data is also to be guaranteed in Horizon Europe, in line with the principle of "as open as possible - as restricted as necessary". Researchers should be guided by the FAIR principles when handling research data. This includes the mandatory creation of a data management plan in each project as well as the storage and provision of data in a relevant repository. All other guidelines can be found in the Horizon Europe Programme GuidelinesExternal link. Details on publication, licences and metadata are defined in the Grant Agreement.

Under the umbrella of Horizon EuropeExternal link, the creation of a Data Management Plan (DMP) has been mandatory for ERC projectsExternal link since 2021. This must be submitted no later than 6 months after the start of the project.

FAIR Data Principles

The "FAIR Data  Principles"External link published in 2016 have also gained general recognition and widespread use. In addition to this version, there is also the article "The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship" published by Wilkinson, M.D. et al. (2016)External link.