BBSRC Data Sharing Policy
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) expects “research data generated as a result of BBSRC support to be made available with as few restrictions as possible in a timely and responsible manner to the scientific community for subsequent research."
A summary of the main BBSRC requirements for:
Data management plans
A data management plan (DMP) should be submitted at the grant application stage. This should not exceed one page and provide details on topics suggested in the BBSRC's Data Sharing Policy. The 'statement on data sharing' will be included as an additional page in the case for support.
Help with costs
Funding to support the management and sharing of research data (for example staffing, physical resources such as storage and networking capability) can be requested as part of the full economic cost of a research project.
Data deposit and retention
The BBSRC expects that all data (with accompanying metadata) is released “no later than the release through publication of the main findings”, or at the latest “within three years of generation of the dataset“.
Data should be maintained for 10 years after project completion and in a form appropriate for secondary use.
Data access and sharing
The BBSRC expects the data to be shared via an appropriate, established repository where possible. The BBSRC does not run its own data centre but provides a Data sharing and data resources list of existing databases and public repositories that it supports.
If data sharing is not possible or appropriate, this should be justified in the DMP.
Data access statements
The BBSRC’s policy makes no explicit statement, however, all Research Councils require that “published results should always include information on how to access the supporting data." See our guidance on Data access statements: Sharing, preserving and depositing your data: Data citation.
Compliance
Adherence to the proposed data management and sharing strategies set out in a funded proposal will be monitored through outputs uploaded to ResearchFish.
Further sources of help
- BBSRC Data Sharing Policy
- BBSRC data sharing policy: FAQs, enquiries can be directed to data.sharing@bbsrc.ac.uk
- BBSRC Data sharing in the biosciences leaflet
- BBSRC Safeguarding good scientific practice [PDF]
- Data management planning for BBSRC funding applicants a guide prepared by the University of Bristol Research Data Service
- DCC Data plan guidance and examples, including example BBSRC DMPs
Write a DMP for the BBSRC using DMPonline
DMPonline, a web-based tool provided by the Digital Curation Centre (DCC), can help you create an effective DMP that meets the requirements set by the BBSRC.
To get started, first create an account, then sign in with your institutional credentials. After signing in, click on ‘Create a plan’ and select ‘Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council’ when asked for your funder. For additional guidance in completing your DMP, choose to see guidance from the University of York and from the DCC in the template provided.