In this paper, we explain our strategy for developing research data management policies at TU Delft. Policies can be important drivers for research institutions in the implementation of good data management practices. As Rans and Jones note (Rans and Jones 2013), “Policies provide clarity of purpose and may help in the framing of roles, responsibilities and requisite actions. They also legitimise making the case for investment”. However, policy development often tends to place the researchers in a passive position, while they are the ones managing research data on a daily basis. Therefore, at TU Delft, we have taken an alternative approach: a policy needs to go hand in hand with practice. The policy development was initiated by the Research Data Services at TU Delft Library, but as the process continued, other stakeholders, such as legal and IT departments, got involved. Finally, the faculty-based Data Stewards have played a key role in leading the consultations with the research community that led to the development of the faculty-specific policies. This allows for disciplinary differences to be reflected in the policies and to create a closer connection between policies and day-to-day research practice. Our primary intention was to keep researchers and research practices at the centre of our strategy for data management. We did not want to introduce and mandate requirements before adequate infrastructure and professional support were available to our research community and before our researchers were themselves willing to discuss formalisation of data management practices. This paper describes the key steps taken and the most important decisions made during the development of RDM policies at TU Delft.

TU Delft advocates Open Access, intended to enable free and unlimited access to scientific publications. In 2005 TU Delft signed the Berlin Declaration, the moral charter of the Open Access movement. An institution has various means of promoting Open Access among its own staff. One such means is a fund to which scientists can apply if they wish to share their publications. Authors wishing to publish Open Access will almost always be required to pay the publisher an author fee. In 2008 TU Delft set up a small-scale experimental OA fund. The theory behind this was that while scientists (represented by a faculty or research group) remain responsible for financing OA publications, the fund offers valuable backing.