In its Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Scientific Practice (specifically §5), the TU Dresden states that "safeguarding and storing primary data" serves as "the basis of publications". Although the term research data is not explicitly used here, this policy is relevant, as primary data makes for a significant part of all research data, depending on its definition. Within the TU, the term may also possess varying definitions: "In the absence of any specification at a departmental level, the individual chairs and research units define what is to be regarded as primary data." This policy regards responsibility, storage location, and data privacy.

Specific requirements regarding research data increasingly come from scientific institutions and funding bodies. For example, public funders often already request extensive planning in terms data and research data management when submitting proposals. One way to fulfill this condition is to create a data management plan. This plan is a systematic description of the terms under which research data is handled (during a research project and after project completion). An introduction to creating data management plans is provided by the Digital Curation Center (DCC).

Information as to special requirements and guidelines may be found on the web pages of the respective institutions and funding organizations. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) provides concrete specifications regarding project planning and application as well as provision and long term preservation of research data. In ithe Guidelines on Open Access to Scientific Publications and Research Data in Horizon 2020, the European Commission recommends open access to publications and research data. Also, the creation of a data management plan is increasingly becoming a requirement in the program.

More on funding policies (German)