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Including ReDATA in grant applications

warning As of January 6, 2026, ReDATA continues to experience intermittent issues such as increased latency and request errors due to waves of automated, high-volume traffic. This is not a security breach and your data and credentials are safe. Mitigation measures from our vendor have been successful but side effects include forced logouts, occasional difficulties in saving, and temporary restrictions on automated downloads.

Why include ReDATA?

Most federal funders now require sharing data products resulting from funded research to be shared when it is possible to do so. Although we recommend researchers use a discipline-specific repository wherever possible, sometimes such a repository does not exist. Additionally, those repositories may only exhibit a few of the more than one dozen Desirable Characteristics of Data Repositories for Federally Funded Research.

Including ReDATA could help increase grant competitiveness by demonstrating the institution's commitment to data stewardship and demonstrating our support for researchers in aligning data sharing practices with funder goals (e.g., ensuring data is shared appropriately and ethically, increasing data FAIRness).

How to include ReDATA?

ReDATA is best mentioned in a proposal's data management and sharing plan, specifically in areas that address plans for where, how, how long, and under what terms data will be shared. Refer to this overview of data management plans for more information. 

If you plan to use ReDATA to share

  • a modest volume of data (less than 500 GB), and
  • data that is not sensitive (e.g. fully deidentified data), and
  • data created and managed by University of Arizona faculty, staff, or students

you may include the following boilerplate text without contacting us first.

Chose the appropriate version of the boilerplate text when you first mention ReDATA in your data management and sharing plan.

General Use

ReDATA is the University of Arizona's institutional research data repository and is managed by the Libraries. For non-sensitive data, ReDATA meets the Desirable Characteristics of Data Repositories for Federally Funded Research set forth by the National Science and Technology Council. Via a 10-year minimum retention period, a curation review process for each dataset, and permissive terms of use, ReDATA demonstrates an institutional commitment to data stewardship and the FAIR principles.

Research Involving Human Subjects

ReDATA is the University of Arizona's institutional research data repository and is managed by the Libraries. ReDATA meets the National Science and Technology Council’s Desirable Characteristics of Data Repositories for Federally Funded Research. ReDATA does not restrict downloads and therefore only accepts de-identified data for publication. Consent for sharing is always verified with the institution's human subjects protection program. Via a 10-year minimum retention period, a curation review process for each dataset, and permissive terms of use, ReDATA demonstrates an institutional commitment to data stewardship and the FAIR principles.

NIH grants submitted on or after May 25, 2026

The new format page for DMSPs opts for yes/no answers and does not allow for explaining ReDATA's retention period or how ReDATA complies with standards. The following is supporting information that will help you answer the questions asked in the format page.

  • Question 3: ReDATA's standard retention period is 10 years in compliance with university guidance.
  • Question 4: ReDATA is an open access repository and does not support access restrictions. Additionally, ReDATA can only accommodate large datasets (> 500GB) on a case-by-case basis.
  • Question 5: For any data related to human subjects research, we require a copy of the consent form(s) that allow for sharing of the data (even if the data is deidentified). If data involves indigenous data or knowledge, we also require evidence of tribal approval. We will not accept any materials that lack evidence of consent/approval.
  • Question 6b: We recommend referring to ReDATA using its full name, University of Arizona Research Data Repository.
  • Question 7b: ReDATA does NOT meet the requirements for restricted-access sharing of human genomic data falling under the Genomic Data Sharing policy. Furthermore, ReDATA will not provide the attestations for Institutional Certification referenced in the Genomic Data Sharing Policy Section IV C.5.

NIH grants submitted prior to May 25, 2026

Refer to the non-NIH boilerplate text above

If you plan to use ReDATA to share

  • a large volume of data (more than 500 GB), or
  • data that might be sensitive (e.g., human subjects data that may have less than negligible reidentification risk, or data related to indigenous knowledge, lands, or cultures), or
  • data anticipated to be created/managed by collaborators at other institutions,

please contact us before including ReDATA in your proposal so we can ensure we can meet your needs.

For these complex cases, if you would like us to explicitly indicate to your funder that we are able to meet your needs, we may be able to provide a letter of support.

ReDATA and the Desirable Characteristics for Data Repositories for Federally Funded Research

This table is adapted from the NIH's guidance for selecting a data repository, which follows the Desirable Characteristics of Data Repositories for Federally Funded Research guidelines set forth by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). The NSTC is part of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). 

CharacteristicDescriptionReDATA
Unique Persistent IdentifiersAssigns datasets a citable, unique persistent identifier, such as a digital object identifier (DOI) or accession number, to support data discovery, reporting, and research assessment. The identifier points to a persistent landing page that remains accessible even if the dataset is de-accessioned or no longer availableYes
Long-Term SustainabilityHas a plan for long-term management of data, including maintaining integrity, authenticity, and availability of datasets; building on a stable technical infrastructure and funding plans; and having contingency plans to ensure data are available and maintained during and after unforeseen events.Yes
MetadataEnsures datasets are accompanied by metadata to enable discovery, reuse, and citation of datasets, using schema that are appropriate to, and ideally widely used across, the community(ies) the repository serves. Yes
Curation and Quality AssuranceProvides, or has a mechanism for others to provide, expert curation and quality assurance to improve the accuracy and integrity of datasets and metadata.Yes
Free and Easy AccessProvides broad, equitable, and maximally open access to datasets and their metadata free of charge in a timely manner after submission, consistent with legal and ethical limits required to maintain privacy and confidentiality, Tribal sovereignty, and protection of other sensitive data.Yes
Broad and Measured ReuseMakes datasets and their metadata available with broadest possible terms of reuse; and provides the ability to measure attribution, citation, and reuse of dataYes
Clear Use GuidanceProvides accompanying documentation describing terms of dataset access and use.Yes
Security and IntegrityHas documented measures in place to meet generally accepted criteria for preventing unauthorized access to, modification of, or release of data, with levels of security that are appropriate to the sensitivity of data.Yes1
ConfidentialityHas documented capabilities for ensuring that administrative, technical, and physical safeguards are employed to comply with applicable confidentiality, risk management, and continuous monitoring requirements for sensitive data.Yes1
Common FormatAllows datasets and metadata downloaded, accessed, or exported from the repository to be in widely used, preferably non-proprietary, formats consistent with those used in the community(ies) the repository serves.Yes
ProvenanceHas mechanisms in place to record the origin, chain of custody, and any modifications to submitted datasets and metadata.Yes2
Retention PolicyProvides documentation on policies for data retention within the repository.Yes
Fidelity to ConsentUses documented procedures to restrict dataset access and use to those that are consistent with participant consent and changes in consent.Yes3
Restricted Use CompliantUses documented procedures to communicate and enforce data use restrictions, such as preventing reidentification or redistribution to unauthorized users.Yes3
PrivacyImplements and provides documentation of measures (for example, tiered access, credentialing of data users, security safeguards against potential breaches) to protect human subjects’ data from inappropriate access.No4
Plan for BreachHas security measures that include a response plan for detected data breaches.Yes
Download ControlControls and audits access to and download of datasets (if download is permitted).No4
ViolationsHas procedures for addressing violations of terms-of-use by users and data mismanagement by the repository.Yes
Request ReviewMakes use of an established and transparent process for reviewing data access requests.No4

1Technical and administrative measures (e.g., NetIDs login, curatorial review prior to publication) help ensure data is not modified without authorization. Furthermore, administrative mechanisms help ensure sensitive data is not made public and, where applicable, that requirements for ethical data sharing are met.

2This information is retained internally.

3 ReDATA supports de-identified human data but requires documented consent. ReDATA's terms of use forbid users from attempting to reidentify participants.

4 ReDATA is intended for materials that are publicly releasable with unrestricted availability. It does not allow for restricting data downloads.