Updated December 16, 2022
When the Research Data Initiative (RDI) formed in April 2020, it set a goal of revising and updating the University policies on the ownership, management, access, transfer and retention of research data and outputs. Over the past three years — with guidance and advice from the Faculty Advisory Group, the Office for Research & Innovation, and faculty and staff workgroups — the Initiative has built policies based upon principles of integrity, sound management, reproducibility and collaboration in the pursuit of knowledge.
In September 2021, the Office for Research & Innovation issued a community-wide Request for Input (RFI) on proposed Research Data policies. Hundreds of Duke faculty and staff members from diverse disciplines answered the call and provided valuable and constructive feedback. The updated policies incorporate this input to ensure they reflect the breadth of research conducted at Duke and support quality data management and sharing practices across the institution.
These policies are reflective of the changing environment of research data management: from the evolving expectations from sponsors, funders and publishers to the ever-increasing desire for collaborators and peers to share and understand the origin of collective inquiry. How we speak and think about research data and outputs has changed since Duke University last updated its research data policies in 2007; these policies attempt to bring our institutional expectations in line with our peers and the wider research and scholarly community.
The Office for Research & Innovation and the Research Data Initiative are pleased to release the updated policies in advance of an effective date of May 1, 2023.
The Research Data Initiative Team recommends reviewing the Policy Evolution Chart prior to reviewing the policy document itself. The Policy Evolution Chart summarizes the key components of the policy that are critical to researchers and explains how policy statements evolved from the 2007 policy to today.
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Policy Evolution Chart (view first)
Below, you will also find resources that explain, support and contextualize the updated policies, including:
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Request for Input Feedback From the Duke Research Community (associated with draft policy circulated in September 2021)
- Further Information on Research Data Initiative Activities
Questions?
For any questions or clarifications on the policy or other related items, the Research Data Initiative Team can be contacted using the online form linked below.