What is NIH's data sharing requirement?

NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy (DMS) effective 25 January 2023. Researchers should follow the data-management plan submitted with the application and deposit data in a recognised repository where appropriate.

Funder mandate

NIH

Encouraged on NIH-supported journal publications; not mandated in NIH grant reporting itself. Most NIH-funded biomedical papers carry CRediT statements because the receiving journal requires them.

EncouragedPolicy year 2023United States$47 billion (FY24)

Overview

Where NIH stands on contributorship and open research

Encouraged on NIH-supported journal publications; not mandated in NIH grant reporting itself. Most NIH-funded biomedical papers carry CRediT statements because the receiving journal requires them.

CRediT status: Encouraged - Guidance or programme calls reference CRediT, but formal policy text is silent.

Open access

NIH Public Access Policy (2008, extended 2024)

All NIH-funded research must deposit accepted manuscripts in PubMed Central. The historical twelve-month embargo was eliminated effective 1 January 2025; PMC deposit must now coincide with publication.

Research data management

Data sharing requirements

NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy (DMS) effective 25 January 2023.

Submission and reporting

How NIH researchers apply and report

Primary submission system	eRA Commons (grant submission); ASSIST and Workspace for application authoring
Biosketch / CV format	SciENcv-generated NIH biosketch (Sections A-D)
Reporting cycle	Annual Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) via eRA Commons

Researchers must submit a Data Management and Sharing Plan with the grant application; the plan is reviewed during merit assessment. Final Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) include a data-sharing statement. NIH uses its own SciENcv-generated biosketch (not R4RI), with structured sections A through D, an ORCID iD requirement for all senior and key personnel since 2019, and the NSPM-33 aligned Common Disclosure Form for current-and-pending support.

Contributorship guidance

How NIH handles contributor attribution

NIH defers to journal authorship policies for the publications themselves. ICMJE-aligned authorship guidance is the de facto norm across NIH-supported biomedical journals, and CRediT is widely used at the journal layer but is not required by NIH directly.

For authors

Publishing from NIH funding

If you publish from an NIH-funded grant, expect to provide a CRediT statement at journal submission - virtually every major biomedical journal requires one. Deposit the accepted manuscript in PubMed Central at the time of publication (no embargo permitted as of 2025). Confirm your ORCID iD is linked in eRA Commons and propagated to the journal submission record. The NIH grant number must appear in the funding-acknowledgement section in the precise NIH-recommended format (for example, "Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institutes of Health under Award Number ..."). Update your RPPR with the publication citation in the next reporting cycle.

For general CRediT submission guidance across publishers, see CRediT for authors.

Notable initiatives

NIH programmes and infrastructure

NSPM-33 implementation
NIH Other Support format
NIH Rigor and Reproducibility Framework
NIH UNITE Initiative on racial equity

Notes

Caveats and context

NIH continues to defer to journal authorship policies for the substance of contributorship; structural change at the NIH grant-reporting layer has not been signalled.

Frequently asked

Common questions about NIH

Does NIH require CRediT?: NIH does not require CRediT at the policy-text level, but guidance and programme materials reference it. Encouraged on NIH-supported journal publications; not mandated in NIH grant reporting itself. Most NIH-funded biomedical papers carry CRediT statements because the receiving journal requires them.
What is NIH's open access policy?: NIH Public Access Policy (2008, extended 2024). All NIH-funded research must deposit accepted manuscripts in PubMed Central. The historical twelve-month embargo was eliminated effective 1 January 2025; PMC deposit must now coincide with publication.
How do I report contributorship to NIH?: NIH defers to journal authorship policies for the publications themselves. ICMJE-aligned authorship guidance is the de facto norm across NIH-supported biomedical journals, and CRediT is widely used at the journal layer but is not required by NIH directly.
Where do I submit a NIH application?: NIH applications are submitted through eRA Commons (grant submission); ASSIST and Workspace for application authoring. Researchers must submit a Data Management and Sharing Plan with the grant application; the plan is reviewed during merit assessment. Final Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) include a data-sharing statement. NIH uses its own SciENcv-generated biosketch (not R4RI), with structured sections A through D, an ORCID iD requirement for all senior and key personnel since 2019, and the NSPM-33 aligned Common Disclosure Form for current-and-pending support.
What is NIH's data sharing requirement?: NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy (DMS) effective 25 January 2023. Researchers should follow the data-management plan submitted with the application and deposit data in a recognised repository where appropriate.

References