Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A DMP serialisation whose '@context' resolves to the published RDA Common Standard vocabulary and whose dataset entities are joinable to DataCite DOIs.
- Is an instance
A SPARQL query combining DMP graphs with funder-grant graphs.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
Plain RDA-CS JSON without a '@context' (still useful, but not linked-data).
- Not an instance
DCAT-AP (a different vocabulary for catalogues).
Editorial commentary
DMP RDA-JSON-LD is a JSON-LD context and ontology rendering of the RDA DMP Common Standard: it adds an “@context” that maps the standard’s properties (project, dataset, contributor, host, and so on) to dereferenceable identifiers (IRIs) in a published vocabulary. That extra layer is what lets a plan’s entities be treated as linked data — queried, merged, and reasoned over with standard semantic-web tooling such as SPARQL or SHACL — rather than just parsed as an isolated JSON document.
The practical payoff shows up in cross-system integration: a DMP expressed in RDA-JSON-LD can be joined directly to the OpenAIRE Research Graph, or merged with an institutional CRIS’s own knowledge graph, because its dataset entities resolve to the same kind of identifiers (DOIs, ORCID iDs) those graphs already use. Most research offices will never author RDA-JSON-LD by hand — it is produced automatically by a DMP tool’s export function — but it is worth recognising as the reason a “linked data” or “@context” field appears in an exported DMP file.
How it differs from adjacent DMP concepts
- vs. RDA DMP Common Standard — the Common Standard defines the entities and properties; RDA-JSON-LD is a specific serialisation of those entities as linked data, not a separate standard.
- vs. DMP machine-readable expression — RDA-JSON-LD is one linked-data flavour of a machine-readable expression; plain RDA Common Standard JSON without the “@context” is machine-readable but not linked data.
References
- RDA DMP Common Standards Working Group JSON-LD context publications.
Checking this against the current guidance
Which funders currently accept a plan in the RDA DMP Common Standard JSON-LD format, rather than narrative text only, is still a short and changing list. The answer depends on which funder acceptance you are working to,
and the page above states the general rule.
It answers with its sources linked, so you can open each one and check it yourself, and it says so when our sources don’t cover a question. Two questions a day are free while you are signed out, no
account and no card. Everything CASRAI publishes stays free to read.
Frequently asked questions
What is DMP RDA-JSON-LD used for if funders mostly want narrative text?
It’s primarily used for machine-actionable workflows — letting repositories, funders’ systems, and research information systems query and cross-reference DMP content programmatically, independent of whether a human-readable narrative is also required.
Can I generate DMP RDA-JSON-LD without writing it by hand?
Yes — tools built around machine-actionable DMPs, such as the Data Stewardship Wizard and ARGOS, can export a completed plan directly into this format rather than requiring manual JSON authoring.
Does using this format change what content the DMP has to include?
No — it’s a different expression of the same underlying content categories (data types, standards, access, preservation), not an additional or reduced set of requirements.
Also known as
DMP-LD · RDA DMP CS JSON-LD
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
<role vocab="credit"
vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
vocab-term="DMP RDA-JSON-LD"
vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/dmp-rda-json-ld" />{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "DefinedTerm",
"@id": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/dmp-rda-json-ld",
"name": "DMP RDA-JSON-LD",
"identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/dmp-rda-json-ld",
"description": "A JSON-LD context and ontology rendering of the RDA DMP Common Standard, enabling DMP graphs to be expressed as linked data and merged with other research-information graphs.",
"inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/machine-actionable-dmps#set",
"url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/dmp-rda-json-ld",
"alternateName": [
"DMP-LD",
"RDA DMP CS JSON-LD"
],
"license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"publisher": {
"@id": "https://casrai.org/#organization"
},
"author": {
"@id": "https://casrai.org/#editorial-team"
},
"datePublished": "2026-05-21T02:22:48",
"dateModified": "2026-09-14T09:02:12",
"inLanguage": "en-GB",
"isAccessibleForFree": true
}
