Research Data Management
Research Data Management (RDM) “encompasses the processes applied throughout the lifecycle of a research project to guide the collection, documentation, storage, sharing, and preservation of research data, and allows researchers to find and access data.” ("Research Data Management." Government of Canada. Accessed January 23, 2023.)
Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council released the Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy in March 2021. This policy builds on the 2016 Statement of Principles on Digital Data Management and seeks to support Canadian research excellence by promoting sound data management and data stewardship practices through three key elements:
Institutional RDM Strategies
Institutions will be required to create an institutional RDM strategy, made publicly available and with contact information.
RDM Plans
Researchers should include methodologies reflecting RDM best practices in grant applications submitted to the Tri-Agency.
Data Deposit
Grant recipients will be required to deposit data, metadata and code into a digital repository (as applicable).
The Tri-Agencies will will be implementing the policy incrementally over the next few years.
uLethbridge's response to the policy is being led by the University Library and the Office of the Vice-President Research. We are preparing for a future state in which most Tri-Agency funding opportunities will have a data management requirement included in the application process.
Institutional RDM Strategy
The first draft of the strategy has been crafted by the RDM Institutional Strategy Working Group. In developing the strategy, the working group evaluated the current state of RDM at uLethbridge by using the RDM Maturity Assessment Model in Canada (MAMIC) framework and other strategy development documents developed by the Digital Research Alliance of Canada.
Support for Researchers
We recognize that uLethbridge researchers will need additional training and supports in order to meet the requirements of the Tri-Agency RDM policy. The University library has many resources available to help you understand RDM and develop your own DMPs.
RDM resources webpage Contact your subject librarian
Resources from the Digital Research Alliance of Canada
Research Data Management in the Canadian Context: A Guide for Practitioners and Learners (open text book on RDM in Canada)
What is "open data" anyway? An introduction to licensing and copyright for research data in Canada (online workshop recording)