The Office of Research Services is currently building capacity surrounding research data management (RDM), which is related to the collection, storage, preservation and access to data produced from a given investigation. Further existing resources are also available through the Library.

On March 16, 2021, the Tri-Agency announced the launch of the Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy. “These standards support research excellence by ensuring that research is performed ethically and makes good use of public funds, experiments and studies are replicable, and research results are as accessible as possible.” Frequently Asked Questions about the policy and the associated requirements for institutions and researchers are available online. 

Implementation: 

The Tri-Agencies plan is to implement the policy incrementally:

• Data management plans: By spring 2022, the Agencies will identify the initial set of funding opportunities subject to the DMP requirement. The Agencies will pilot the DMP requirement in targeted funding opportunities before this date.
• Institutional strategies: By March 1, 2023, research institutions must post their RDM strategies 
• Data deposit: After reviewing the institutional strategies and in line with the readiness of the Canadian research community, the Agencies will phase in the deposit requirement.

Ontario Tech University Implementation Plan:

Preparations by the Office of Research Services are underway to meet the requirements of this Policy. Some tasks include:

• The creation of an RDM Committee with an established Terms of Reference,
• An environment scan,
• Asset mapping of Ontario Tech RDM-related resources,
• And lastly, the establishment of an institutional strategy for Ontario Tech.

This will be coupled with a communications strategy to raise awareness of the RDM Institutional Strategy amongst the Ontario Tech research population.

Ontario Tech Institutional RDM Strategy:

On September 1, 2023, Ontario Tech published our Institutional Research Data Management Strategy.

Resources:

Ontario Tech has worked to collate a variety of resources to support our researchers.

• Ontario Tech Library's Research Data Management Guide, which includes a sub-section on Indigenous Data.
• Ontario Tech's Research Ethics Board offers e-modules to internal researchers through CAREB-ACCER on Research Data Management and Research with Indigenous Communities. You must register using your ontariotechu.ca or ontariotechu.net account.
• Ontario Tech's Information Technology Services department is available to assist with your data needs, whether you need to discuss storage options, IT security and more. Email servicedesk@dc-ot.ca for assistance.

Questions:

Please direct any questions to research@ontariotechu.ca.