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Research Data Management

The Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance is committed to fostering sound data management practices to facilitate new agri-food and rural research. It supports the University of Guelph's commitment to research excellence, which includes managing data to the highest standards throughout the research data life cycle.

Research Data Management involves the following: creating a Data Management Plan (DMP), managing data during the research process, and managing data after the research process.

Researchers awarded funding through the Alliance research program must complete a DMP for their awarded project(s). Additionally, all research data, metadata and code that are generated using Alliance funds or resources must be preserved in a non-proprietary file format and available to provide to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) upon request.

Why DMPs?

A DMP summarizes how data generated over the course of a research project will be stored, shared and maintained. It can help improve the effectiveness, efficiency and organization of a research project as well as help ensure data is ready for preservation or sharing at the end of a project. Developing a DMP ensures that you’ve thoroughly considered and addressed best data management practices and that your project complies with Alliance policies.

Completing your DMP

For Alliance-supported research projects, DMPs are a condition of award. Please refer to your award agreement for details.

All DMPs must be reviewed and endorsed by the University of Guelph Library. The Library will submit your DMP to the Office of Research, Agri-Food Partnership on your behalf.

Instructions

  1. Use the Digital Research Alliance of Canada (DRAC) DMP Assistant online tool to create your DMP with the University of Guelph Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance Template. Instructions for using the DMP Assistant tool are available in the 2026 DMP Manual.
  2. Once complete, e-mail your draft DMP PDF (with coversheet) to the University of Guelph Library (lib.research@uoguelph.ca). A research and scholarship librarian will review and provide feedback within a week. We recommend submitting your DMP early to allow time for revisions.
  3. Address any recommended changes and resubmit your DMP to the Library for review. You can update your DMP using the DRAC DMP Assistant.
  4. Once the Library endorses your DMP, they will email your Library-endorsed DMP to the Alliance (rescoord@uoguelph.ca) and will copy you.

Alliance researchers are encouraged to revisit their DMPs and update it throughout the research process to reflect changes in data, methods and project needs.

The University of Guelph Library provides guidance on managing data during the research process including guidance on documenting your work and creating metadata.

Data Preservation

All research data, metadata and code that are generated using Alliance funds or resources must be preserved in a non-proprietary file format and available to provide to OMAFA upon request. The best way to preserve your data, metadata and code is to deposit it in a recognized repository, such as the Agri-Environmental Research Data Repository at the University of Guelph.

Depositing data in a repository does not require sharing it; data can be deposited without being made public.

Data Deposit and Data Sharing

The Alliance strongly encourages researchers to deposit all research data, metadata and code into a recognized repository. The selected data repository/repositories should be described in the DMP. The location of the deposited data (e.g., URL or the digital object identifier (DOI)) must be provided in the Final Report.

Researchers are encouraged to provide public access to the data deposited where ethical, legal, and commercial requirements allow. Sharing research data supports research transparency, replication, and reuse of data. A University of Guelph research and scholarship librarian can help researchers identify an appropriate repository and discuss options for making project data FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable).

OMAFA access to project data

For all recipients of funding and resources from the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance, OMAFA is entitled to request and be granted access to all data generated using Alliance funds. You must contact Alliance research program administration before entering into any agreement that may limit the Ministry's right to access data generated as part of an Alliance-supported project, including non-disclosure agreements or third-party data agreements. Please contact Stacy Favrin, Senior Manager, OMAFA/U of G Research Programs (favrinst@uoguelph.ca) for guidance before entering into any access-limiting agreements.

Supports and Resources for Alliance Researchers

DMP Lunch and Learn for Alliance Researchers

  • Upcoming lunch and learn TBA

The following one-on-one consultations are available:

  1. The University of Guelph Library provides one-on-one consultations for researchers to complete their DMPs. For assistance, questions or to book a one-on-one consultation with a research and scholarship librarian at the University of Guelph Library contact lib.research@uoguelph.ca.
  2. Researchers can also contact Michelle Edwards, Director, Agri-Food Data Strategy at edwardsm@uoguelph.ca.

The University of Guelph has developed an institutional Research Data Management (RDM) Strategy to outline how U of G provides researchers with an environment that enables and supports RDM best practices – a necessary part of research excellence. Read the full strategy here.

  • Research Data Management
  • How to deposit research data in the University of Guelph Research Data Repositories
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This website is managed by the University of Guelph. Views expressed here are the views of the University and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Ontario.