Periodic Reporting for period 2 - WorldFAIR (Global cooperation on FAIR data policy and practice)
Reporting period: 2023-03-01 to 2024-05-31
‘WorldFAIR: Global cooperation on FAIR data policy and practice’ was a two-year project to advance implementation of the FAIR principles, particularly in relation to interoperability and reusability of data within and across research domains. The project was conceived as responding to Recommendation 4 of the Turning FAIR into Reality report, which identified the need to ‘Develop interoperability frameworks for FAIR sharing within disciplines and for interdisciplinary research’. The Recommendation states that ‘Research communities need to be supported to develop interoperability frameworks that define their practices for data sharing, data formats, metadata standards, tools and infrastructure. To support interdisciplinary research, these interoperability frameworks should be articulated in common ways and adopt global standards where relevant.’ It is this vision of enabling community agreements around interoperability, and encouraging the identification and adoption of common standards that drove the WorldFAIR project.
WorldFAIR worked with a set of eleven domain and cross-domain case studies. Each case study developed an interoperability framework, recommendations and/or a FAIR implementation for their discipline or interdisciplinary research area. Led by CODATA, a coordinating and synthesis activity supported each Case Study in understanding their requirements through the completion of FAIR Implementation Profiles (FIPs). This work was summarised in a report on WorldFAIR's experience with FIPs and fed into recommendations FAIR Assessment within (and across) disciplines. Most importantly, the insights from close engagement with each of the Case Studies were incorporated into the development of the Cross-Domain Interoperability Framework (CDIF), which provides recommendations and guidance for five core functional requirements for interoperability and data combination. Further profiles are discussed and work will continue beyond the WorldFAIR project. Finally, the final ‘Policy Brief’ which summarises the project’s most important policy relevant recommendations and calls for a shift from a bibliographic approach to an engineering approach to data stewardship.
WorldFAIR worked with a set of eleven domain and cross-domain case studies. Each case study developed an interoperability framework, recommendations and/or a FAIR implementation for their discipline or interdisciplinary research area. Led by CODATA, a coordinating and synthesis activity supported each Case Study in understanding their requirements through the completion of FAIR Implementation Profiles (FIPs). This work was summarised in a report on WorldFAIR's experience with FIPs and fed into recommendations FAIR Assessment within (and across) disciplines. Most importantly, the insights from close engagement with each of the Case Studies were incorporated into the development of the Cross-Domain Interoperability Framework (CDIF), which provides recommendations and guidance for five core functional requirements for interoperability and data combination. Further profiles are discussed and work will continue beyond the WorldFAIR project. Finally, the final ‘Policy Brief’ which summarises the project’s most important policy relevant recommendations and calls for a shift from a bibliographic approach to an engineering approach to data stewardship.
Each case study produced a FAIR Implementation Profile (FIP) early in the project and then refined it, or produced further FIPs, as their work and understanding proceeded. The FIPs methodology is a very useful tool to stimulate reflection on the FAIR principles and how to meet their requirements. In the aggregate, they can potentially provide a valuable source of information about FAIR practices and indicate areas of alignment and convergence. They can also, potentially, be used to underpin more domain sensitive and informed FAIR assessment and benchmarking. Our findings are presented in a report providing a comprehensive and balanced account of our experience with FIPs (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11236094(opens in new window)) and another report discussing implications for FAIR assessment (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11242737(opens in new window)). This evidence underpins the WorldFAIR project’s recommendation that “funders and policy makers should encourage and enable research communities to develop FAIR Implementation Profiles so that these can be used as the basis of alignment and ultimately assessment”.
CODATA led a coordinating activity with the objectives of ensuring alignment and cross-fertilisation, of synthesising findings and recommendations across the case studies and project as a whole and of extrapolating cross-domain and domain independent recommendations. To develop the CDIF, CODATA convened an international Working Group and Advisory Group including project representatives, but also experts from a number of relevant international initiatives and standards activities. The resulting report, presenting the core initial profiles for CDIF is thus the result of considerable coordination within the project, augmented by substantial international collaboration and expertise.
CODATA led a coordinating activity with the objectives of ensuring alignment and cross-fertilisation, of synthesising findings and recommendations across the case studies and project as a whole and of extrapolating cross-domain and domain independent recommendations. To develop the CDIF, CODATA convened an international Working Group and Advisory Group including project representatives, but also experts from a number of relevant international initiatives and standards activities. The resulting report, presenting the core initial profiles for CDIF is thus the result of considerable coordination within the project, augmented by substantial international collaboration and expertise.
The major project contribution beyond the state of the art, is the Cross-Domain Interoperability Framework (CDIF) (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11236871(opens in new window)). The CDIF is a set of implementation recommendations, based on profiles of common, domain-neutral metadata standards which are aligned to work together to support core functions required by FAIR. It is designed to support FAIR implementation by establishing a ‘lingua franca’ based on existing standards and technologies to support interoperability, in both human- and machine-actionable fashion. The CDIF deliverables presents a core set of five CDIF profiles, which address the most important functions for cross-domain FAIR implementation. Each profile is supported by specific recommendations, including the set of metadata fields in specific standards to use, and the method of implementation to be employed for machine-level interoperability. The CDIF has been very well received and measured by downloads has generated substantial interest. The authors have received extremely positive expressions of support and praise in particular for the practical and implementation oriented approach taken. The CDIF synthesises emerging good practice and is likely to save research data infrastructures considerable time and effort in their choice of metadata and implementation decisions. CODATA will continue to convene the CDIF WG and AG to work on additional profiles. The CDIF will be tested, refined and extended through a set of new projects and the wider WorldFAIR+ initiative.
Each WorldFAIR case study developed an interoperability framework, recommendations and/or a FAIR implementation for their discipline or interdisciplinary research area. Examples of these outputs include: a ‘cookbook’ for FAIR in chemistry; a vision for how a multifaceted discipline like geochemistry can use FAIR Implementation Profiles to advance FAIRness and coordinate activities; recommendations and training materials for how to make population health data more interoperable and FAIR; a practical and targeted rubric for assessing the FAIRness of plant-pollinator data; practical recommendations for how GLAM sector archives can take steps to improve practice, in line with the FAIR principles, but addressing the specific needs and challenges of cultural heritage. As each case study was led by an authoritative international organisation, or institutions with links to major international initiatives or projects, these recommendations are already being implemented and are having a significant impact on practice.
Each WorldFAIR case study developed an interoperability framework, recommendations and/or a FAIR implementation for their discipline or interdisciplinary research area. Examples of these outputs include: a ‘cookbook’ for FAIR in chemistry; a vision for how a multifaceted discipline like geochemistry can use FAIR Implementation Profiles to advance FAIRness and coordinate activities; recommendations and training materials for how to make population health data more interoperable and FAIR; a practical and targeted rubric for assessing the FAIRness of plant-pollinator data; practical recommendations for how GLAM sector archives can take steps to improve practice, in line with the FAIR principles, but addressing the specific needs and challenges of cultural heritage. As each case study was led by an authoritative international organisation, or institutions with links to major international initiatives or projects, these recommendations are already being implemented and are having a significant impact on practice.