Policy documents

General policy

In November 2013 the Executive Board of the Radboud University adopted a general policy (pdf, 86 kB) about Research Data Management. The most important elements of the policy are

• Data are, at the latest, stored at the time of publication of the research (including dissertations), together with all the information necessary for potential reuse of data. The retention period of data is a minimum of ten years.
• The primary responsibility of proper research data management lies with the researcher. The director of the research institute is ultimately responsible.
• Furthermore, directives (doc, 33 kB) on the control of data that is generated at Radboud University were developed.

Findability and accessibility of research data

Good research data management (RDM) is important for several reasons. It is important for warranting the quality and integrity of science, enabling the replication of research, enabling the reuse and combination of data, facilitating collaboration, and increasing the possibilities of recognizing and monitoring research.

With a view to these goals, Radboud University has established the following minimum requirement concerning RDM: the research data associated with scientific publications of Radboud University must at least be sustainably findable, and be archived under proper access management. This directive on the findability and accessibility of research data, which applies as of January 1^st 2021, is further explained in this document (pdf, 181 kB). The directive is additional to the general RDM policy (pdf, 86 kB) of Radboud University.

Institute-specific policies

Each research institute of Radboud University has further elaborated in its own RDM policy how the requirements of RDM, findability and accessibility can be met. Researchers can consult the policy and, if needed, the data steward of their own institute for this. A list of the tasks and responsibilities of data stewards at Radboud University can be found here.