is a free, national, bilingual online tool that helps Canadian researchers develop structured, funder-compliant Data Management Plans (DMPs).
Developed by the Portage Network and maintained by the Digital Research Alliance of Canada, the tool guides you through key questions about how your data will be collected, stored, shared, preserved, and protected.
Why use the DMP Assistant?
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Complies with Tri-Agency requirements: The DMP Assistant is aligned with the Canadian Tri-Agency RDM Policy and supports institutional templates for CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC.
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Customizable and collaborative: Create, edit, and share plans with collaborators. The platform allows multiple users to work on a plan, track changes, and generate downloadable reports.
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Supports institutional templates: UBC-specific templates are integrated into the tool, including both the simplified (pre-funding) and comprehensive (post-funding) versions created by the UBC Data Management Plans Working Group.
UBC templates in DMP Assistant
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UBC simplified template (pre-funding phase): A concise planning tool for grant applications, updated in May 2025.
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UBC comprehensive template (post-funding phase):
Guides for DMP Assistant:
- Quick guide for creating simplified DMPs for the pre-award phase (grant applications)
- UBC Library RDM GitHub– Open source, computationally reproducible, self-paced training on all things RDM, including directory structures, file naming, file formatting, Data Management Plans, data deposits, and much more.
- DMPs – exemplars
Note: UBC Library provide access to DMP Assistant via UBC CWL as of October 2024. If you have an existing account on DMP Assistant, you can link it to your CWL by logging in, going to your name on the top right, then clicking on Edit Profile > Institutional credentials > Link accounts
Need help? Contact research.data@ubc.ca