Frequently Asked Questions

Individual Researchers

Is AnVIL right for me?

The AnVIL platform can be used for solutions supporting:

Clear and comprehensive scientific data management.
Secure, resilient, and long-term storage of open and controlled access data.
Discoverability of open and controlled access data and support for data access requests (DARs).
Streamlined Data Access Committee (DAC) integration, expediting the review of DARs.

These solutions are operated in a secure environment and supported by a dedicated team including help desk, forum, videos, and in-depth tutorials.

If you would like to explore how the AnVIL platform can support your award’s DMS requirements, please contact us at AnVIL-for-DMS@broadinstitute.org.

How do researchers use the AnVIL to meet the Data Management and Sharing policy?

AnVIL provides a comprehensive solution to address the NIH’s new DMS policy (effective January 2023),
by making scientific data management and use secure and easy. AnVIL offers:

Workspace storage solutions:

Cloud-backed storage solutions ensure your data is globally accessible and horizontally scalable.
Data upload is supported through a graphical user interface (GUI) and can be performed programmatically to support bulk data transfer.
Flexible workspaces with recommended minimal required metadata schemas to enable discoverability in a user-friendly catalog, which can be extended for your project as needed.
Real-time data sharing for individual users or for groups of users.
Accessible public open-access data made findable through search.
Access to cloud resources supporting high-throughput workflows and interactive analysis environments.

For controlled-access datasets:

The DUOS system is integrated with workspaces to support Data Access Committees (DACs) by enabling automated, standardized access request review.
You can use your own DAC, or use a Broad-based DAC for data management if desired.
Check if your institute is already supporting DUOS.

Comprehensive data security:

We hold security of your data to the highest standard. In addition to its FISMA Moderate authorizations, the AnVIL cloud workbench has been authorized as a FedRAMP Moderate impact system.

What are the costs associated with using the AnVIL for DMS?

The costs for managing data are dependent on the amount of data and type of data (open or controlled access). We also offer additional services including data curation and harmonization, de-identification, and Broad-based DAC use. We encourage you to read our documentation on cloud costs when developing your DMS budget. We have generic DMS cost description templates available upon request for your budget justification.

To mitigate the impact on your budget, DMS costs can be included in DMS supplements, and qualify as infrastructural costs (making them candidates for indirect costing). Additionally, data sets may qualify for submission to the AnVIL Project potentially reducing costs to a minimal maintenance fee.

If you would like to explore how to maximize your budget, contact us at AnVIL-for-DMS@broadinstitute.org.