Data Management Plans, or DMPs, are documents describing what will happen to data during and after research. Before writing a DMP, review guidelines for the funding agency you are working with. DMPs often include descriptions of:
Checklist for a Data Management Plan, v4.0 from the Digital Curation Center
In 2013, the US Office of Science and Technology issued a policy memorandum expanding requirements for planning and sharing of data. Most federal funding research agencies require DMPs as part of the grant application process.
Even if you don't need to meet funder requirements, data management plans are still valuable. Planning ahead of time for the storage, backup, archiving, and sharing (if applicable) of data will:
Available at dmptool.org, DMPTool is a free tool to help researchers create data management plans that comply with funder requirements. It walks users through the components required by the funder they're applying to, and allows them to create a completed DMP, which can be exported as a Word document or PDF.