External funder policies

External research funders at home and abroad are increasingly adopting policies on Research Data Management (RDM). These introduce new requirements for researchers applying for and receiving funding.

For information about RDM requirements for research funded via Ghent University, see Ghent University's policy on RDM.

Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO)

The FWO made RDM a key element in all of its support channels in 2018. Researchers are expected to pay due attention to the management of research data before, during and after research.

FWO has the following RDM requirements:

Applying for funding

Applicants have to answer five questions in the ‘Data Management Plan’ section of the FWO application form.

The data management section is not an evaluation criterion. However, it is part of the application file sent to the evaluation panels and external referees. They may provide feedback or set additional requirements that researchers have to comply with.

Check this further guidance on completing the DMP section in the FWO application form.

Providing an initial Data Management Plan (DMP)

For approved applications, the answers to the five RDM questions in the application must be turned into a full Data Management Plan (DMP).

This initial DMP must be submitted to the host institution no later than 6 months after the official start date of the project or fellowship.

As a Ghent University researcher, upload your DMP in GISMO as part of the project information, even if Ghent University is not the main host institution. The FWO may request access to submitted DMPs for a random check.

Using the FWO's standard template for drafting a DMP is mandatory. It is available to Ghent University researchers via the online planning tool DMPonline.be.

Writing a final DMP

At the end of the project, a final, up-to-date version of the DMP must be appended to the final report on the completed research to be submitted to the FWO via its e-portal. It is part of the final evaluation of the project or fellowship by the competent expert panel.

In the absence of a detailed DMP, the final report will be considered incomplete.

Budgeting for data management

The FWO does not provide separate funds for storing data during research, nor for their preservation afterwards.

Researchers can use the existing operating budget, however, to cover the costs for data management. These expenses can be described in the 'consumables' section of the FWO application form.

Preserving and sharing data

The FWO expects research data to be preserved for a minimum of 5 years from the end of the research.

Regarding the sharing of research data, the FWO encourages researchers to make their data FAIR and advises to follow the principle 'as open as possible, as closed as necessary'.

Reporting datasets as research output

FWO requires information about research results including datasets to be delivered to the FRIS portal if these results stem from a project that is at least partially supported by FWO funds.

Every FWO fellowship holder or (co-)supervisor involved in an FWO project is responsible for depositing the correct and complete metadata of their research results in the information systems of Ghent University, namely Biblio and GISMO.

Need more help? Check this (re)Search tip on reporting research output of FWO projects.

More information

VLAIO cSBO

As of October 1st 2022, VLAIO requires a DMP for all Strategic Basic Research for Clusters projects (cSBO).

For these projects, VLAIO adheres to the DMP requirements of FWO.

More information

Horizon Europe (2021-2027)

Open science has become a policy priority for the European Commission, who aspires to make it the standard method of working for researchers receiving EU funding.

In addition to other mandatory and recommended open science practices, Research Data Management is mandatory for any Horizon Europe project generating or reusing research data.

Horizon Europe has the following RDM requirements:

  • Provide a Data Management Plan (DMP).
  • Deposit research data in trusted data repositories with open access (or rather 'as open as possible, as closed as necessary') and according to the FAIR data principles to enable data reuse.
  • Provide information about any research output or any other tools and instruments needed to reuse or validate the data.
See more details on Horizon Europe's RDM requirements.

Applying for funding

Proposals need to address RDM in the application, under the 'Excellence', 'Impact' and the 'Quality and efficiency of the implementation' section.

Find out more about how to address open science in Horizon Europe project proposals.

Budgeting for data management

Proposals must ensure appropriate resource and budgetary planning for data management.

The costs for managing and providing access to research data are eligible for reimbursement during the duration of the project, if they fulfil the general eligibility conditions specified in the grant agreement.

More information

European Research Council (ERC)

The RDM requirements are similar to those for Horizon Europe projects, with FAIR data and access that is 'as open as possible, as closed as necessary' as core principles.

Applying for funding

The ERC does not specify any RDM or Open Science requirements relating to grant proposals.

Providing a Data Management Plan

Grantees of ERC projects are required to submit a Data Management Plan (DMP).

  • A first version of the DMP must be submitted within 6 months after the start of the grant.
  • The DMP should be updated and refined as the project evolves.

The ERC does not prescribe a specific format for DMPs, but using its own ERC DMP template is encouraged. It is available to Ghent University researchers via the online planning tool DMPonline.be.

Budgeting for data management

Costs relating to RDM and open access to research data are eligible for reimbursement if they fulfil the general eligibility conditions specified in the grant agreement.

Preserving and sharing data

The requirements on data sharing do not necessarily imply that all research data need to be open. Rather, access to data should be 'as open as possible, as closed as necessary'.

 Grantees are required to:

  • Deposit research data needed to validate published results in a data repository, and other curated and/or raw data as specified and within the deadlines laid down in the DMP.
  • Take measures, as far as possible, to enable third parties to access, mine, exploit, reproduce and disseminate research data free of charge for any user (e.g. by attaching CC-BY or CC0 licenses).
  • Provide information via the chosen repository about the tools and instruments required to validate the results (e.g. specialised software or software code, algorithms and analysis protocols), and where possible, provide these tools and instruments themselves.

More information

BELSPO

BELSPO introduced an Open Research Data (ORD) mandate in December 2019. It applies to digital (meta)data collected or created within research projects wholly or partially funded by BELSPO.

Access to research data should be ‘as open as possible, as closed as necessary’.

Applying for funding

Researchers must submit a provisional Data Management Plan (DMP) as part of the grant application.

Proposals must comply with BELSPO’s guidelines on reusing existing data and collecting new data:

  • Making use of existing databases/collections whenever possible
  • Justifying why collecting new data is required and explaining how (if applicable)

Proposals must also clearly indicate when and in what format any data collected within the proposed research will be made accessible. They should specify which categories of users are likely to benefit from data access.

Data sharing is taken into account and rewarded in grant applications:

‘Indicators and measures for data sharing will be incorporated into institutional assessment and individual researcher evaluation processes, researcher recruitment, advancement and grant attribution at an equivalent level to bibliographic record.’ (BELSPO Open Research Data mandate)

Providing a Data Management Plan

Researchers have to:

  • Submit a provisional Data Management Plan (DMP) as part of the grant application.
  • Submit a completed DMP to the BELSPO programme administrator no later than 6 months after the project’s start date.
  • Include a final version of the DMP in the project’s final report submitted to the BELSPO programme administrator. The DMP is an element in the final project evaluation by the relevant expert panel.

 Using the BELSPO DMP template is recommended to draft the DMP. It is available to Ghent University researchers via the online planning tool DMPonline.be.

Budgeting for data management

No information is currently available about whether and how any costs for research data management can be covered by BELSPO funding.

Preserving and sharing data

BELSPO expects researchers to:

  • Deposit the data needed to validate results in scientific publications and other raw/curated data specified in the DMP in a trusted data repository and/or data center, and make them available at the latest at the time of publication.
  • Provide open data in a format and under a license (e.g. CC0 or CC-BY) permitting ‘full redistribution and full reuse’.
  • Protect data as needed (e.g. for IP, privacy, or security reasons), in line with the ‘as open as possible, as closed as necessary’ principle.
  • Link deposited datasets to their associated publications in Orfeo (BELSPO’s Open Access repository for publications).

More information

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