NIH encourages scientific data to be shared as soon as possible, and no later than at the time of an associated publication or the end of the performance period, whichever comes first.
The time of an associated publication: Scientific data underlying peer-reviewed journal articles should be made accessible no later than the date on which the article is first made available in print or electronic format.
The end of the performance period: Scientific data underlying findings not disseminated through peer-reviewed journal articles should be shared by the end of the performance period unless the grant enters a no-cost extension. If a no cost extension is permitted, then the recipient should share the data by the end of the extended performance period. These scientific data may underlie unpublished key findings, developments, and conclusions; or findings documented within preprints, conference proceedings, or book chapters. For example, scientific data underlying null and negative findings are important to share even though these key findings are not always published. Researchers should be aware that some preprint servers may require the sharing of data upon preprint posting, and repositories storing data may similarly require public release of data upon preprint posting.
NIH Institutes, Centers and Offices (ICOs), Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs), funding opportunity announcements (FOAs), and other NIH policies (e.g., the Genomic Data Sharing Policy) may specify earlier expectations for data sharing timelines, in which case, the data should be made available as required by those expectations.
If a no cost extension is granted for an extramural award, scientific data should be made accessible no later than the time of an associated publication, or the end of the no cost extension, whichever comes first.