Developing UKRI's research data policy

Overview

Update on the development of the UKRI Research Data Policy (April 2026) 

UKRI would like to thank everyone who contributed feedback on the draft policy, both via engagement hub and our consultation events. We received over 100 consultation written responses, and a diverse range of individuals and organisations attended a series of cross-sector and disciplinary-specific webinars, workshops, and roundtables. We will be publishing a summary of feedback received with the final policy. 

We are currently finalising the data policy, including considering all the input received, and developing our implementation plan and supporting guidance.  

We plan to publish the policy, implementation plan, and an initial set of supporting guidance in summer 2026. This will include economic and social science guidance, which has been co-developed with the UK Data Service (UKDS), alongside guidance on data about people.  

There will then be a period of engagement and implementation, including publishing other supporting guidance and resources before the policy starts to apply in 2027. These activities and further detail about the start of the policy will be set out in our implementation plan. 

When we published the draft policy, we indicated we would be further considering our expectations for software, and data management plans (DMPs). We are pleased to report that we are working with the Software Sustainability Institute (SSI) to develop expectations for software and will be consulting further with the community in due course, as part of our implementation plan.  

Work developing our future approach to DMPs has been informed by a project we commissioned from Research Consulting, as well as the feedback we received via our consultation activities. The Research Consulting project examined how Data Management Plans (DMPs) are currently used across the UKRI‑funded research landscape and beyond. This included engagement with research organisations and an assessment of UKRI and other funders’ current practices. We will share our updated approach and publish Research Consulting’s report with the policy and implementation plan.  

Further updates about the policy and its implementation will be shared on this page over 2026, so please refer back here for the latest status.  

You can contact us about this work at researchdatapolicy@ukri.org.  

Background 

UKRI is developing a new research data policy, which will update and streamline our expectations for sharing and managing research data and other research-relevant digital objects, including algorithms, software, code, and workflows, arising from UKRI-funded research.   

This integrated policy will apply to research funded by the research councils, Research England, Innovate UK, and cross-UKRI schemes. It aims to provide clearer and more consistent expectations and support best practice for different research domains and data types.   

Between April and July 2025, we welcomed stakeholder feedback on a draft version of the UKRI research data policy. This draft includes proposed common principles and requirements for research data and metadata.   

As detailed in the draft policy, UKRI is taking a modular approach to developing this policy. Over 2025, in consultation with stakeholders, we will also be reviewing and developing:   

• supplementary data- and domain-specific requirements and guidance, which will build on some of the expectations in our councils’ current policies  

• our expectations for sharing other research-relevant digital objects, including algorithms, software, code, and workflows  

• our expectations and guidance for data management plans, support for data sharing costs, and monitoring and compliance.   

You can also find further detail on the policy and its development in the updated slide deck, published on 28 April 2026.

Our December 2024 announcement provides further context about why UKRI is updating and harmonising its data sharing policy.   

UKRI ran a consultation on this draft policy April to August 2025, via engagement hub and a series of events. A summary of feedback received and how this was used will be published alongside the policy in summer 2026.

UKRI's draft research data policy 

Please note this draft will be replaced by the final version of the policy in summer 2026. 

Download a copy of the draft policy.

You can also download the draft policy by using the link provided under the 'related' section at the bottom of this page.

If you require this document in a different format, then please contact researchdatapolicy@ukri.org. 

Further information

Media enquiries should be directed to UKRI’s press and media team.  

Information about UKRI’s and research councils’ existing research data policies can be found on UKRI’s website at making your research data open. Applicants for UKRI funding and UKRI award holders must continue to follow these policies until informed otherwise.