All data contributors need to have the appropriate permission and authority to share data publicly. Documentation that affirms the grant’s principal investigator (PI) has the authority to share the data is required before data can be released to the AD Knowledge Portal. This may take the form of a Data Transfer Agreement (DTA) and/or an Exhibit.
The AD-DCC Governance team will work with you to determine which type of data sharing documentation is sufficient.
Data Transfer Agreement (DTA)
A Data Transfer Agreement (DTA) between the data host (Sage Bionetworks) and the data contributing institution serves as a general understanding of data provider and recipient rights and responsibilities and needs to be signed by a Signing Official from both parties. A new DTA may not need to be completed if Sage already has a DTA with your institution, or if your grant award stipulates data sharing through the AD Knowledge Portal. Sage Bionetworks’ Access & Compliance team will establish if this is the case before a new request is made.
Exhibits
Data Transfer Agreements are often structured hierarchically:
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A Master Agreement establishes broad, overarching terms between Sage and your institution.
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An Exhibit is a more detailed attachment under a Master Agreement, specifying the particulars of a given data contribution (e.g., the specific datasets, data types, or technical requirements involved).
In practice, this means that if your institution already has a Master Agreement in place with Sage, a new contribution may only require a new or updated Exhibit — not an entirely new agreement.