Do data management policies become more open over time?

Research data management (RDM) policies are ubiquitous in UK Higher Education Institutions, and are often written and managed by, or with, the library team. RDM policies attempt to balance the requirements of keeping data safe and secure when necessary and opening up data to allow reuse and to support research integrity. This article uses a framework analysis approach on 134 policies to investigate whether the UK RDM policies have become more open over time in terms of policy points and language. The investigation shows that recent policies have shown an increased likelihood of being more open in several areas: how long data should be archived for, sharing of software, and the mandatory inclusion of data availability statements in journal articles. Language around FAIR data terms have increased, as has using research integrity as a key reason to manage data according to best practices.