August 19, 2024

An important component of receiving funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs (OPP) includes good practices regarding data sharing and accessibility. OPP’s Data, Code, and Sample Management Policy (NSF 22-106) requires that “metadata files, samples, full final data sets, derived data products, and relevant software/code be deposited in a long-lived and publicly accessible archive, well documented, assigned with interlinked persistent unique identifiers (e.g., DOI), and labeled with an open/appropriate license”. To meet these goals, datasets need to be well-structured and metadata documentation needs to be comprehensive enough to enable reuse in the future by others.

The Arctic Data Center (ADC) is dedicated to assisting researchers in implementing best practices to facilitate data archiving and reuse. To ensure successful data archiving, ADC curators review submissions and correspond with researchers to confirm that all data and metadata documentation meet standards for reproducibility and accessibility before data publication. Curators collaborate with researchers to ensure data files are in tidy, open formats and that metadata documentation is complete.

The ADC team is committed to supporting researchers in meeting the requirements outlined in NSF22-106 and encourages early communication should there be questions or concerns about the submission process. The publishing process can take up to 2 weeks for datasets with a few files, and it may be longer for more complex and larger datasets. Furthermore, this process can take additional time if extensive changes need to be made by researchers during review. 

Researchers are encouraged to learn more about the data submission process on the ADC website. Additionally, researchers should consider participating in one of the ADC data science training workshops to enhance skills in high-quality data management.

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The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

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