Data sharing is becoming an expected part of research.
One important benefit of sharing data is increased trust in the findings. In a survey conducted by Pew Research Center, 57% of respondents say they trust research findings more if the data from the study is openly available to the public. Other benefits include: sparking new research collaborations, enhancing rigorous study design, stimulating new research inquiries, enabling unique data combinations, and facilitating study validation. All of these things maximize data collection by reducing redundancy and accelerating the research enterprise.
Many funding agencies have requirements for data sharing.
In order to promote openness and transparency, many funding agencies require data produced as part of a funded project to be made available. NSF, DOD, DOE, and most recently, the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing goes into effect January 25, 2023. This policy applies to "all research, funded or conducted in whole or in part by NIH, that results in the generation of scientific data."
Good data management is good research!
Thinking about data management in advance instead of as an afterthought is the critical component to making it integral to the research process. The goal is to make the data usable, findable, accessible, reusable, and game-changing for science and the public.