Funding agency policies
Canada
Tri-Council Policy Statement on the Eithical Conduct for Research Involving HumansResearchers should ensure that the data obtained are stored with all the precautions appropriate to the
sensitivity of the data. Data released should not contain names, initials or other identifying information. While
it may be important to preserve certain types of identifiers (e.g., region of residence), these should be masked
as much as possible using a standardized protocol before the data are released for research purposes.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research(CIHR)
CIHR requires grant recipients to deposit certain data types - bioinformatics, atomic, and molecular coordinate data - into the appropriate public database immediately upon publication of research results. CIHR also requires researchers to retain original data sets arising from CIHR-funded research for a minimum of five years after the end of the grant. They have plans to review this policy in the near future and possibly expand it.
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
SSHRC has a Research Data Archiving Policy in place since 1990. The policy requires that all research data collected with the use of SSHRC funds must be preserved and made available for use by others within a reasonable period of time. SSHRC considers a reasonable period to be within two years of the completion of the research project for which the data was collected.
Natural Sciences and Engineering Resaerch Council (NSERC)
NSERC no general policy in regards to research data. They do, however, have guidelines for researchers funded through the NSERC Strategic Networks Program. The guidelines state, to encourage the sharing and dissemination of research data and its use by others within a reasonable period of time, an agreement regarding responsibility for the maintenance and preservation of large data sets must be in place at the outset of network activities.