FAIR Working Group

Implementing the FAIR data principles by defining the corresponding requirements for the development of EOSC services, in order to foster cross-disciplinary interoperability

The EOSC FAIR working group will provide recommendations on the implementation of  Open and FAIR practices within the EOSC. It addresses cross-disciplinary interoperability, gather requirements relevant to the EOSC services, and advise the EOSC Executive and Governance Boards on FAIR-related matters.

The FAIR & Architecture WGs operate in close alignment. The former addresses cultural aspects such as semantic and legal interoperability, certification and community data standards, while the latter focusses on the related technical specifications that address FAIR requirements.

The implementation of FAIR and Open Science policy requires a culture change supported by appropriate incentives and coherent, easy-to-use data services. This WG builds on existing FAIR practices in all disciplines and address interoperability across them. It will propose measures for increasing FAIR maturity to maximise data sharing and re-use.

The EOSC-FAIR working group will define and implement a FAIR work plan. These will be based on the Action Plan proposed by the EC Expert Group on “Turning FAIR into reality”, as well as ongoing community initiatives and outputs from key projects like FAIRsFAIR, RDA and FREYA.

The WG will provide recommendations on:

1. The development and adoption of data standards and sharing agreements
2. Best practices that are already applied in specific scientific domains or countries and can be adopted at the multi-disciplinary and European levels
3. An EOSC Interoperability Framework that overarches disciplinary approaches and encourages research infrastructures to be interoperable-by-design
4. Service requirements for FAIR implementation, relevant to the Architecture WG
5. A Persistent Identifier (PID) policy for the EOSC
6. Frameworks to assess FAIR data and certify services that enable FAIR, including the collation of results e.g. catalogues of certified repositories
7. The international dimension of FAIR principles, converging towards globally-accepted frameworks

Dependencies

The FAIR working group works in close collaboration with the Architecture WG to ensure that the FAIR principles of findability, accessibility, reusability and interoperability are supported by the technical arrangements under development.

The FAIR working group also collaborates with Landscape WG to ensure that the federation of relevant structures and initiatives is conducted under the scope of the FAIR principles.

The FAIR working group coordinates with the Rules of Participation WG to ensure that EOSC services support FAIR and are FAIR.

Milestones

• Q2 2019: Release an annual FAIR work plan
• Q4 2019: Persistent identifier policy defined
• Q4 2019: Outline approach for accrediting FAIR data and certifying repositories.
• Q1 2020: Release as annual FAIR work plan
• Q3 2020: EOSC Interoperability Framework
• Q4 2020: Results from testing and an updated PID policy
• Q4 2020: Results from testing and an updated scheme for accrediting FAIR data and certifying repositories

Task Forces

• PID Policy
• FAIR Practice
• Interoperability
• Metrics & Certification

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