Authorship and development of the Flemish DMP template

The original Flemish Data Management Plan template (v1) was developed by the Flemish Research Data Network (FRDN) Task Force DMP consisting of
representatives of Flemish funders and research institutions: BELSPO, EWI, FlandersMake, FWO, Hogent, ILVO, imec, INBO, ITG, KU Leuven, Plantentuin Meise, UAntwerpen, UGent, UHasselt, VIB, VITO, Vives, VLAIO, Vlerick, VLIZ, VUB. They started from existing DMP templates, like the one from FWO and Science Europe, and feedback from the research community. This uniform Flemish DMP template was implemented in September 2022.
To learn more about the history and development of the original Flemish DMP template, watch this online infosession: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAranosV-MA.

The template was revised for the first time by the FRDN Project Group DMP consisting of 4 representatives of the Flemish research institutions: Jolien Berckmans (UHasselt), Flora D'Anna (VIB), Willeke de Haan (KU Leuven) and Laura Standaert (UGent). A survey was sent to all Flemish research organizations in 2024 to gather their feedback on the DMP template, and inspiration was sought from international initiatives and templates, such as the Leiden DMP template*. The revised version of the Flemish DMP template (v2) was introduced in September 2025.


* Fieke Schoots, Michelle van den Berk, Kristina Hettne, Joanne Yeomans, & Admiraal, F. (2023). Data Management Plan template Leiden University (4.3). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10210504.


How to use the Flemish DMP template

- The Flemish DMP template should be used to create a data management plan (DMP) for all research projects that are financed by Flemish funders (e.g. FWO, VLAIO).
- The template contains the minimal required questions to create a qualitative DMP. Therefore, institutions are not supposed to delete or edit questions in the template. However, they can customize the template by adding questions and institution-specific guidance. Any customized template should contain a proper citation to the Flemish DMP template on which it is based.
- To create a new DMP, fill out the template in the tool provided by your institution (e.g. DMPonline) or fill out the Word template that can be downloaded from this Zenodo record. Check for the most recent version.
- The template contains a link to the DMP glossary, and questions are provided with general guidelines. For more information and guidance to fill out the DMP template, contact your institution's research support team.