Abstract

Data Management Plans have become the norm for many funders. Typically, researchers need to submit them as deliverables at earlier stages of the project. It’s a fairly new process that has not been fully tested. In our experience, it’s rare that funders send any comments on DMPs submitted. However, this will probably change as the funder's effort is shifted toward data curation. Researchers face a fair complicated document to be filled out (about 6 pages typically) with numerous technical words associated with Open Science. Open science vocabulary is expanding and specializing rapidly, and researchers cannot keep up. There is resistance and a lack of motivation to do yet another “bureaucratic” document. Librarians, data stewards, and research managers develop guidelines, templates, and training to serve this need. At Uni.lu, we have tested a new tool that aims at bridging the knowledge gap of Open Science lingo and helping to draft Data Management Plans! We have developed the Project Life Cycle Fair Data Mapping, a simple exercise where we invite researchers to map their data and give all the details necessary to make it FAIR data. At the same time, we make them aware that they should consider that the project life cycle will have an impact on the quality of the data and how it’s stored, accessibility, and reproducibility in its different states. We will present examples, lessons learned as well as the improvements and provisions after internal discussions and exchanges with the national funder.