NOAA Data Management Plan (DMP) Template

Updated October 4, 2024

The official NOAA Data Management Handbook was released on October 1, 2024, providing comprehensive guidelines and requirements for managing data throughout its life cycle. The Appendix C of the Handbook contains Data Management Plan Template (DMP). This DMP template page is intended to provide easy access to the template to support our collaborators in adhering to the guidelines.

1. General Description of Data

Note

General Description of Data to be Acquired and Managed

  • Name of the Data, data collection Project, or data-producing Program:
  • Project Purpose and Abstract including summary description of the data:
  • Is this a one-time data collection, or an ongoing series of measurements?
  • Actual or planned temporal coverage of the data:
  • Actual or planned geographic coverage of the data:
  • Is there a data acquisition plan? Does acquisition include restricted designations?
  • Type(s) of data and approximate data volume: (e.g., digital numeric data, imagery, photographs, video, audio, database, tabular data, etc.)
  • Data collection method(s): (e.g., satellite, airplane, unmanned aerial system, radar, weather station, moored buoy, research vessel, autonomous underwater vehicle, animal tagging, manual surveys, enforcement activities, numerical model, etc.)
    • Collection platform, if known:
  • If data are from a NOAA Observing System of Record, indicate name of system:
    • If data are from another observing system, please specify:

2. Point of Contact

Note

Point of Contact for this Data Management Plan (author or maintainer)

  • Name:
  • Title:
  • Affiliation or facility:
  • E-mail address:
  • Phone number:

3. Responsible Party for Data Management

Note

Program Managers, or their designee, shall be responsible for ensuring the proper management of the data produced by their Program. Please indicate the responsible party below.

  • Position Title:
  • Name of current position holder:
  • Email of current position holder:

4. Resources

Note

Programs must identify resources within their own budget for managing the data they produce.

  • Are there the appropriate level of resources available to manage these datasets throughout the data life cycle?
  • If the data are to be publicly accessible, are there the appropriate level of resources available to disseminate (make publicly available) these datasets?
  • Are there the appropriate level of resources available to archive (submit to an approved data repository for long term preservation) these datasets? If so, where do you plan to archive these data?
  • What is the approximate percentage of the overall project budget for these data devoted to data management to ensure compliance with data management requirements (specify percentage or “unknown”):

5. Data Lineage and Quality

Note

NOAA has issued Information Quality Guidelines for ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information which it disseminates.

  • Processing workflow of the data from collection or acquisition to making it publicly accessible (describe or provide URL of description):
  • If data at different stages of the workflow, or products derived from these data, are subject to a separate data management plan, provide reference to other plan and provide data source details:
  • Quality control procedures employed (describe or provide URL of description):

6. Data Documentation

Note

The Data Documentation Procedure requires that NOAA data be well documented, specifies the use of ISO 19115-2: 2009 and related standards for documentation of new data, and provides links to resources and tools for metadata creation and validation.

  • Does metadata comply with the Data Documentation requirements?
    • If metadata are non-existent or non-compliant, please explain:
  • Name of organization or facility providing metadata hosting:
    • If service is needed for metadata hosting, please indicate:
  • URL of metadata folder or data catalog, if known:
  • Process for producing and maintaining metadata (describe or provide URL of description):

7. Data Access

Note

NAO 212-15 states that access to environmental data may only be restricted when distribution is explicitly limited by law, regulation, policy (such as those applicable to personally identifiable information or protected critical infrastructure information or proprietary trade information) or by security requirements. This restriction would include PII and other sensitive data (export controlled data) and data restricted by contract or other written, binding agreement (permitted to be withheld under the Evidence Act) including commercial data licensed via contract, data obtained from another third party subject to a restrictive license (international partner, CRADA, etc.).The Data Access section of this Handbook contains specific guidance, recommends the use of open-standard, interoperable, non-proprietary web services, defines timeliness, provides information about resources and tools to enable data access.

  • Do these data comply with the general data access requirements?
  • Intended data access method(s): (Specify Web Service; API; FTP Bulk Download; HTTP Bulk Download; Website, web page, or portal; Asynchronous Ordering Service; To Be Determined; Unable to Provide Access; Limited Access Only; or No Access Intended)
    • Is the data, in part or in whole, restricted to the public: (yes or no)?
    • If Restricted,To Be Determined, or Unable to Provide Access, please explain:
  • Name of organization of facility providing data access:
    • If data hosting service is needed, please indicate URL of data access service or other methods, if known.
  • Tentative dissemination date by which data will be made publicly available per timeliness requirement:
    • (Specify [Exact Date]; No Delay; one year from Collection; one year from QA/QC; or 2 years from QA/QC; Exceeds 2 years from QA/QC; To Be Determined; Unable to Provide Access; Limited Access Only; or No Access Intended)

8. Data Preservation and Protection

Note

The NOAA Procedure for Scientific Records Appraisal and Archive Approval14 describes how to identify, appraise and decide what scientific records are to be preserved in a NOAA archive.

  • What is the actual or planned long term data archive location: (Specify NCEI facility, or other specific archive, To Be Determined, Unable to Archive, or No Archiving Intended)
    • If data preservation is to be provided by a data repository other than NOAA NCEI, please explain (e.g., data out-of-scope for NCEI, appraisal failed, preferred community of practice, cost considerations, technical considerations, etc.)
    • If To Be Determined, Unable to Archive or No Archiving Intended, please clarify that selection:
  • Data storage facility prior to being sent to an archive facility (if any):
  • Approximate delay between data collection and submission to an archive facility:
  • How will the data be protected from accidental or malicious modification or deletion prior to receipt by the archive? Discuss data back-up, disaster recovery/contingency planning, and off-site data storage relevant to the data collection:

9. Additional Line Office or Staff Office Questions

Note

Line and Staff Offices may extend this template by inserting additional questions in this section.

10. Approval

  • Name
  • Title
  • Signature and Date