Canada's three federal research granting agencies—the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)—have adopted the Tri-Agency Statement of Principles on Digital Data Management as an important step towards strengthening research data management in Canada and maintaining Canada's research excellence.
The Statement is the result of targeted community engagement, and will serve as the basis for the continuing work of the agencies on the renewal of their data management policies. It recognizes that different stakeholders in Canada's research system have different roles and responsibilities, and that all parts of the system must work together in order to ensure that Canada maintains international best practices in the preservation, accessibility and reuse of research data.
The Statement outlines the agencies' overarching expectations for research data management and the roles of researchers, research institutions, research communities, and research funders in supporting data management. It complements and builds upon existing agency policies, and will serve as a guide to assist the research community in preparing for, and contributing to the development of, Tri-Agency data management requirements. The Statement itself does not include mandatory requirements.
Because the research data management environment continues to evolve, the agencies will continue stakeholder engagement and review and revise the Statement as appropriate.
Learn more about the tri-agency data management initiative, and read the Tri-Agency Statement of Principles on Digital Data Management, at science.gc.ca.