To protect and manage research data at UVA, and help comply with funding requirements for government agencies, UVA now has a university-wide license to LabArchives.

LabArchives helps researchers to manage the results of their research efforts, record and document research processes and procedures, and manage digital research data in way that increase reproducibility, efficiency, collaboration, searchability, and security. It is a cloud-based platform that is securely accessible via the Internet from anywhere in the world, using computers and mobile devices.

Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs) allow users to record data in any file format, collaborate within their group and or, and retain a complete history of the data. All data and activity stored in LabArchives is searchable and auditable, allowing users to prove discovery, apply for grants, and establish compliance. 

Beginning July 1, 2025, UVA will require that all sponsored funded projects with federal funding use LabArchives. If you are unsure of how to use LabArchives, please contact the Office of the Vice President of Research at LabArchives@virginia.edu .

Compliance Requirement

Requirements to use LabArchives fall under UVA Policy RES-002: Ownership, Retention, Safeguarding, Management, and Transfer of Research Records. Specifically, "Electronic research records must be maintained on University-owned and/or University-managed devices, systems, or services which include deposit with external data repositories consistent with sponsor requirements (e.g., NIH Data Management and Sharing Plans). Safeguarding must be in accordance with IRM-003: Data Protection of University Information, the applicable data protection standard (i.e., for highly sensitive, sensitive, internal use, or public data), and any associated procedures. Unpublished research records are categorized as “sensitive data” or “highly sensitive data.” 

Please note that while LabArchives is HIPAA compliant, UVA has decided that Protected Health Information (PHI) or other highly sensitive data may not be entered or stored in LabArchives at this time. In the future, UVA may consider making allowing HIPAA-protected information/data into the system, but storing PHI and/or other highly sensitive data it is not available at this time.

LabArchives supports compliance with sponsor data management and sharing policies, including the NIH DMSP. By utilizing LabArchives features to organize data, document data types and formats, create metadata for re-use, and store data in a secure location researchers will be better prepared to meet funder requirements. LabArchives supports documentation and management of a Data Management (and Sharing) Plan and allows the upload of plans created using the DMPTool.

For more information about how LabArchives supports key aspects of this requirement, please visit their page about Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Policy.

UVA Library and the Health Sciences Library

Both libraries have data management specialists who can provide support with creating and implementing Data Management and Data Management and Sharing Plans.  

You can find information about the University Library and the data management support they offer here: https://guides.lib.virginia.edu/RDM/planning 

You can find information about the Health Sciences Library and the data management support they offer here: https://guides.hsl.virginia.edu/nih-dmsp