This article discusses the concepts and characteristics of science produced in the 21st century. It presents considerations about the necessary cyberinfrastructure for research data collaboration and sharing.  It contextualizes data management and the reasons that may impact data sharing, such as research on national sovereignty issues or research that culminated as technological development. Examples are given about the process of data sharing in some countries abroad. In the Brazilian context, it presents and discusses the legal framework on open governmental and scientific data. In addition, it presents some Brazilian institutional policies on data management. At the end presents a set of guidelines that can subsidy the creation of a national policy for research data management.