EPSRC requirements

What does the EPSRC expect?

Further sources of help

• DATA MANAGEMENT PLAN REQUIRED AT APPLICATION? No, unlike other funders, the EPSRC does NOT expect a plan to be included as part of a grant application. A data management plan is still a useful tool for your research, however. Here are some guidance examples.
• HELP WITH COSTS? If there are potential costs in storing and/or managing your research data, these will need to be highlighted in the costs of your grant.
• WHEN AND WHERE TO DEPOSIT DATA: Research data that underpins publication must be referenced in published papers –  include a statement on how and on what terms any underlying data can be accessed by third parties. Publish metadata within 12 months of the data being generated (when depositing data, a repository will enable the publication of the metadata describing your data in an appropriately structured way) describing your research data
• ACCESS AND DATA SHARING: You need to provide details in your research papers of how the supporting research data can be accessed, and the research data must be securely preserved for at least 10 years* after any privileged access period expires, or, if others have accessed the data, after the last date on which access to the data was requested by a third party. If your data is digital data, you should include a DOI. (A DOI or Digital Object Identifier provides the means by which a digital object, for instance a dataset, can be persistently identified. When depositing your data, a repository service should automatically assign a DOI to your data.) With regard to research outputs, please be aware that EPSRC funded researchers are also required to enter details of these into the RCUK Research Outcomes System (ROS).
• * Note that EPSRC research data is not defined as every piece of data produced during a project. EPSRC have indicated that they expect the data which underpins published research outputs to be kept as a priority. You should decide in consultation with your Head of Department or project leader what should be kept and what should not.

• EPSRC Data Requirements and What You Need to Do – further guidance for Oxford researchers, including FAQs

• EPSRC Policy Framework on Research Data
• The DataCite organisation defines a minimal set of mandatory metadata, for the purpose of citation and retrieval
• EPSRC Policy on Access to Research Publications
• Data Management Planning: EPSRC Funding Applicants – a guide prepared by the University of Bristol Research Data Service (PDF)