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NIH Data Management and Sharing

Repository Listings

Some programs or solicitations may specify a repository for sharing and archiving data. In cases where a repository is not specified, see any of the below resources for lists of repositories that are acceptable for data sharing in certain contexts.

Note: The University of New Mexico is a member institution of the Dryad data repository. Dryad is included in the list of acceptable generalist repositories.

Selecting a Data Repository

The image depicts a decision tree that NIH funded researchers can use to identify their best choices for data repositories.

The above image is from the Fred Hutch Cancer Center Data Science Lab course, "NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy," Chapter 4: "Data Management and Storage." https://hutchdatascience.org/NIH_Data_Sharing/data-management-and-storage.html

NIH strongly encourages the use of established repositories to the extent possible for preserving and sharing scientific data. From the NIH website:

  • For some programs and types of data, NIH and/or Institute, Center, Office (ICO) policy(ies) and Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) identify particular data repositories (or sets of repositories) to be used to preserve and share data.
    • For data generated from research subject to such policies or funded under such FOAs, researchers should use the designated data repository(ies).
  • For data generated from research for which no data repository is specified by NIH, researchers are encouraged to select a data repository that is appropriate for the data generated from the research project. Be sure to consult the list of desirable characteristics and the following guidance:
    • Primary consideration should be given to data repositories that are discipline or data-type specific to support effective data discovery and reuse. For a list of NIH-supported repositories, visit Repositories for Sharing Scientific Data.
    • If no appropriate discipline or data-type specific repository is available, researchers should consider a variety of other potentially suitable data sharing options:
      • Small datasets (up to 2 GB in size) may be included as supplementary material to accompany articles submitted to PubMed Central (instructions).
      • Data repositories, including generalist repositories or institutional repositories, that make data available to the larger research community, institutions, or the broader public.
      • Large datasets may benefit from cloud-based data repositories for data access, preservation, and sharing.

UNM Service Catalog

Help with NIH DMS plans is available from multiple research support services.