University Policies
For the Flemish universities, it is important that all researchers honour scientific standards, including the meticulous and ethical treatment of research data. This policy is intended to set out parameters to safeguard the quality, availability and accessibility of research data within any Flemish university. It provides a basis for evaluating compliance with laws, regulations and codes of conduct. The policy also clarifies the various roles and responsibilities of university staff in managing research data.
The highlights of the policy are:
- Archive (relevant and valuable) research data for a minimum of ten years;
- Store data in a structure that is suitable for long-term preservation and later consultation;
- Provide metadata to describe the data with sufficient clarity to ensure they are findable for further research;
- Make archived research data available for access and reuse at and outside VIB insofar as is reasonably possible;
- Each individual researcher / research leader is responsible to draw up a Data Management Plan (DMP) at the start of the research project and to follow up the agreements made in this plan;
- Scientific directors are responsible for the implementation and monitoring of the University policy framework and for drawing up additional faculty guidelines to this end if needed.
Links to the Policy Frameworks of the Flemish Universities: