Are there cases in which data sharing will not be possible? How should NIH GWAS grant applicants deal with such instances?
Submission of some GWAS data to the repository may be precluded by various factors, such as international laws, limitations in the original informed consents, concerns about harms to individuals or groups, or other cases where expectations for data submission cannot be met or restrictions on the original funding mechanism. Through the governance structure, ICs will be provided guidance on appropriate exceptions. Applicants who believe that they will be unable to share data as described in the policy will be asked to explain in detail why data sharing is not possible in the data sharing plan portion of the application. ICs make funding decisions based on both scientific excellence and program priorities and may take data sharing plans into consideration. In doing so, applications that represent the highest quality science but do not provide for standard data deposition and distribution through the NIH GWAS data repository will be considered for funding by ICs on a case-by-case basis.
