In the DABAR system, storage of a new type of object has been enabled, which pertains to the storage of Research Data Management Plans (DMP). This storage option has been made available because the Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ) will require project leaders to store and publish their DMPs in their institutional repositories.
In 2022, based on the Decision of the Management Board from the 14th session held on December 21, 2021, the Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ) introduced the Research Data Management Plan (DMP) as part of the project monitoring process.
The amended Law on the Right of Access to Information (NN 25/13, 85/15, 69/22) came into force on June 25, 2022, according to which research data funded by public funds must be publicly available.
We are quoting the relevant paragraph of Article 28(6) of the amended Law on the Right of Access to Information:
(6) Public bodies are obliged to publish research data funded by public funds and already publicly available through institutional and thematic repositories for reuse in machine-readable and open format, in accordance with open standards.
Following the changes to the Law, from April 15, 2023, the "Research Data Management Plan" form must be openly accessible in the repository established in the national DABAR system.
When submitting regular reports, the DMP form no longer needs to be submitted in .docx or .pdf format, and it is sufficient to provide a link to the DMP published in the repository.
Digital academic archives and repositories now provide support for all repositories established in the DABAR system for the permanent storage of research data management plans for all scientists and researchers. Each stored DMP will be assigned a unique permanent identifier, URN:NBN, which researchers can attach when submitting their reports. Since the DMP is a "living" document that changes and evolves throughout the project, researchers have the option of versioning the DMP and publishing new versions in institutional repositories. Changed sub-versions are entered by updating the metadata on the version and the DMP file. It is recommended that new versions of the same DMP be entered as additional files to the existing record.
It is recommended that the DMP be published under the CC0 Creative Commons license, as this enables others to use and repurpose good elements of the DMP in combination with others under the same license, freely and without obstacles.
Instructions for self-archiving the Research Data Management Plan can be found on the DABAR website."
