The regulatory framework for research data management in Brazil

Abstract

The increasing production of scientific data and the demands for transparency, sharing, preservation, and reuse have amplified the importance of research data management as an essential practice for quality, integrity, and accountability in scientific activity. Although the topic has gained international prominence, its institutionalization in Brazil remains limited in terms of the formulation of institutional policies, the provision of services, the establishment of infrastructures, and the definition of responsibilities related to the data generated, collected, and processed by research institutions. This work aims to analyze the Brazilian normative and institutional framework capable of supporting the incorporation of research data planning and management as an institutional responsibility and as a necessary practice to meet the legal and regulatory requirements applicable to scientific data. The research is characterized as qualitative, exploratory, descriptive-analytical, documentary, and bibliographic, based on the examination of Brazilian legislation, regulations, official documents, and scientific literature on the subject. The results indicate that Brazil is not in a regulatory vacuum, as it has frameworks related to access to information, open data, personal data protection, innovation, digital government, research with human subjects, and scientific integrity. It is concluded that research data management should be understood as an institutional responsibility, linked to legal and regulatory compliance, governance, preservation, protection, transparency, and responsible sharing of scientific data.