# {{ 'GLOSSARY.TITLE' | translate}}

#### DMP

A DMP - short for Data Management Plan - is a document describing the processes that the data have undergone and the tools used for their handling and storage during a research lifecycle. Most importantly, DMPs secure provenance and enable re-use of data by appointing data managers and by including information on how data can be re-used by others in the future. Therefore, a DMP is a living document which is modified according to the data developments of a project before it’s completed and handed over at the end of the project. Public funders increasingly contain DMPs in their grant proposals or policy funding requirements. A good paradigm is the European Commission demands for the production and delivery of DMPs for projects funded under the Horizon 2020 Funding Programme. On that note, and to encourage good data management practices uptake, many European institutions include DMPs in post-graduate researchers policies and offer relevant support to staff and students.

#### DMP template

DMP template contains general but vital information about the name and the duration of the project that the DMP corresponds to, the contributing organisations and individuals as well as the datasets that are under the Dataset Description section. It also offers the possibility of describing datasets other than primary data generated, under “External References” section. A DMP template can have many Dataset Descriptions.

#### Dataset Description

Dataset Description documents the management processes of datasets following funder’s or institution’s requirements. A dataset description is essentially a questionnaire template with underlying added value services for interoperability and machine readability of information which is developed based on the given requirements. Management requirements differ from funder to funder and from institution to institution, hence the growing collection of Dataset Descriptions to select from. Moreover, a Dataset Description links to the documentation of one dataset, hence a DMP template may contain more than one dataset descriptions on the occasion when multiple datasets were used during the project. When documentation of some of the project’s datasets falls under additional requirements (e.g. projects receiving multiple grants from different sources), there is the possibility of describing datasets with more than one Dataset Description template.