Data Access Process
To begin the Data Use Certification (DUC) process, you must be associated with an NIH-recognized research institution, and you must identify an authorized signatory official at your institution.
The NBDC Data Access Committee (DAC) has been established to systematically review data access requests pertaining to the NBDC studies. The DAC consists of federal staff from NIH with expertise in science, policy, or bioinformatics resources. After a request is screened to ensure it satisfies basic pre-requisites, it is reviewed by the DAC for compliance with the DUC terms and conditions. Note: DUCs are not reviewed for quality of the science being proposed, only if the data access request is reasonable (e.g., can be achieved with data currently available), and aligns with the terms of the DUC.
The NBDC data use certification (DUC) governs data use for the ABCD Study® and the HBCD Study. Data users must complete a DUC in order to access data from these studies. Anyone who intends to touch the data will need to complete a DUC and accompanying responsible data and biospecimens use training.
Criteria for data access request eligibility:
You must have a research-related need to access the data.
You must be associated with an NIH-recognized research institution and have the approval of an authorized signatory official of that institution. Visit eRA Commons to learn about institutional signing officials: https://www.era.nih.gov/erahelp/commons/commons/roles/SO.htm
Your institution must have an active Federal Wide Assurance (FWA) for the Protection of Human Subjects.
Note: If you are unsure of who at your institution is an authorized signing official, do not know whether your institution has an FWA, or have any other questions, please email nbdc@mail.nih.gov.
DUC Workflows
1. Individual-level DUC: You may submit a DUC as an individual recipient, or
2. Group-level DUC: You may submit a DUC as a lead PI with others from your institution listed on the same DUC. You must ensure that all listed recipients on the DUC comply with its terms and conditions. Note: Recipients may only be listed on one DUC.
All recipients must complete training on responsible use of data and biospecimens, along with an assessment, and achieve a minimum pass rate of 90% to gain access to the data.
Recipients who intend to disseminate findings from analyses of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) data separated out from other groups in presentations, pre-prints, publications, website posts, etc. must submit a second DUC governing use of AI/AN data (A-DUC) after obtaining approval on the general DUC.
Once approved, access is valid for one year. To maintain access, recipients must submit a renewal request before the DUC expires.
