Turning FAIR data into reality

“Turning FAIR Data into Reality”
Progress and plans from the European
Commission FAIR Data Expert Group
Sarah Jones, Rapporteur
Associate Director, DCC
sarah.jones@glasgow.ac.uk
@sjDCC
Simon Hodson, Chair
Executive Director, CODATA
simon@codata.org
@simonhodson99

What is FAIR?
A set of principles that describe the attributes
data need to have to enable and enhance reuse,
by humans and machines
2
Image CC-BY-SA by SangyaPundir

The FAIR Data Expert Group
Image CC-BY-SA by Janneke Staaks
www.flickr.com/photos/jannekestaaks/14411397343

Simon Hodson, CODATA
Chair of FAIR Data EG
Rūta Petrauskaité, Vytautas
Magnus University
Peter Wittenburg, Max Planck
Computing & Data Facility
Sarah Jones, Digital Curation
Centre (DCC), Rapporteur
Daniel Mietchen, Data
Science Institute,
University of Virginia
Françoise Genova,
Observatoire Astronomique
de Strasbourg
Leif Laaksonen, CSC-
IT Centre for Science
Natalie Harrower,
Digital Repository of
Ireland – year 2 only
Sandra Collins,
National Library of
Ireland – year 1 only
FAIR Data EG: membership

1. To develop recommendations on what needs to be done to turn
each component of the FAIR data principles into reality (EC,
member states, international level)
2. To propose indicators to measure progress on each of the FAIR
components
3. To provide input to the proposed European Open Science Cloud
(EOSC) action plan on how to make data FAIR
4. To contribute to the evaluation of the Horizon 2020 Data
Management Plan (DMP) template and development of
associated sector / discipline-specific guidance
5. To provide input on the issue of costing and financing data
management activities
FAIR Data EG: Original Objectives
5
http://tinyurl.com/FAIR-EG

Was to have run March 2017-March 2018. Extended to end Dec 2018 in
order to contribute more directly into the FAIR Data Action Plan.
1. Develop the FAIR Data Action Plan, by proposing a list of concrete
actions as part of its Final Report.
2. Additional workshops with experts from relevant European and
international interoperability initiatives, input to FAIR Data Action Plan.
3. Launch and disseminate FAIR Data Action Plan and support
Commission communication in November 2018.
FAIR Data EG: Extension and Scope
6

FAIR Data EG: Timescale
7
May - June
Interim report due end
May
Launch at EOSC Summit
on 11th June in Brussels
June - October
Consult over Summer
Workshop arranged for
EOSC Summit
Webinars and other
stakeholder events to be
planned
November
Final report and FAIR
Data Action Plan due
Official launch and formal
communications at
Austrian Presidency
event in Vienna

Progress to date
Image CC-BY-NC by Eliot Phillips
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hackaday/15275245959

Report outline
9
 Concepts – why FAIR?
 Creating a culture of FAIR data
 Creating a technical ecosystem for FAIR data
 Skills and capacity building
 Measuring change
 Facilitating change: FAIR Data Action Plan

 Ran a consultation last Summer to get input into report drafting
 Shared report outline and encouraged engagement via:
– Webinars moderated by group members
– GitHub site
 Many contributions from community
https://github.com/FAIR-Data-EG/consultation
Consultation
10

 Ran a survey between May-July 2017 in collaboration with OpenAIRE
 Asked about attitudes to DMPs, H2020 template and support needed
 Received 289 responses
 50% were researchers
 60% were (also) research support
H2020 Data Management Plan survey
11
Full collection on Zenodo:
- Survey report
- Raw data
- Analysed dataset
- Infographic
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1120245
Also webinar slides and video at:
www.openaire.eu/openaire-webinar-
results-survey-on-h2020-dmp-template

1. Clarify EC requirements for DMPs
2. Revise the DMP template structure
3. Simplify the DMP content and terminology
4. Provide discipline-specific guidelines and example answers
5. Encourage the publishing of DMPs and collate examples
6. Facilitate the inclusion of RDM costs in grant applications
7. Improve DMP review practices and share guidelines
H2020 DMP survey recommendations
13

 A short tweetable recommendation
– Underpinned by several practical and specific action points
– Action points to be linked to stakeholders and timeframes
Structuring the FAIR Data Action Plan
14
FAIR Data Action Plan will apply to EC, member states, and international
level, but we will also place in context of EOSC to inform this roadmap

Implementation of FAIR Data Action Plan
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 We are to create a common FAIR
Data Action Plan
 Use this as rubric to support the
definition of related FAIR Data
Action Plans at disciplinary,
member state and other levels
 Workshop at EOSC Summit on
11th June will be start of this
process

Emerging recommendations
Image CC-BY-NC by Thomas Hawk
https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/15634502093
Some kind of photo. Feel free to suggest
ideas for visuals / concepts to express

 FAIR does not of itself imply and necessitate Open. It needs to be
augmented with the principle:
‘As open as possible, as closed as necessary’
 Data can be accessible under restrictions and still be FAIR. Data shared in
‘data safe havens’ must be FAIR.
 Making data FAIR ensures it can be found, understood and reused – even if
this is within a restricted or closed system.
 Essential to clarify the limits of open: open is the default, with proportionate
exceptions for privacy, commercial interests, public interests and
security.
FAIR Data and Open Data
17

Broad definition of FAIR
18
 FAIR works remarkably well to communicate the attributes and principles
necessary to give data value and facilitate reuse.
 Can and should be augmented with certain key concepts that relate to the
system necessary for FAIR. But important to resist the temptation of adding
letters to FAIR (e.g. FAIR TLC etc).
 Mostly attributes that fall under ‘reusable’ or relate to the system around the
FAIR data: timely release, assessable, stewarded for the long-term in a
trusted and sustainable digital repository, responsibilities of users etc.
 Most significant challenge in FAIR are in Interoperability and Reusability.

Broad application of FAIR
19
 The FAIR principles (and the Action Plan) necessarily apply to a number
of digital objects related to the data, as well as the data themselves, e.g.
– Metadata (and the standard defining the metadata; and the registry
listing the standard…)
– Code (and the metadata/documentation about the code; and the
repository where the code can be found…)
– Applies beyond the digital world, i.e. to the metadata describing
analogue or physical research resources.

Culture and Technology for FAIR
 Science/research is a cultural
system with considerable
technological dependency.
 Culture and technology for FAIR data
are deeply interrelated.
 Fundamentally important to address
cultural and technological
requirements for FAIR data.
Image CC-BY by Nicolas Raymond
https://www.flickr.com/photos/80497449@N04/8691983876

Enable research communities to develop their
FAIR data frameworks
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 Most significant challenge in FAIR are in Interoperability and
Reusability.
 Essential to develop enabling mechanisms that support research
communities to develop and implement FAIR data frameworks.
 One mechanism is to learn from and share examples from those
domains which have had ‘FAIR’ resources for some time before the term
was coined (e.g. aspects of the practice in linguistics and astronomy,
genomics and use of remote sensing data).

Enable research communities to develop their
FAIR data frameworks
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Enabling mechanisms include:
 Collection and sharing of case studies where ‘FAIR’ data (before or after
the term) has facilitated domains.
 Mechanism to encourage and facilitate the development of community
agreements for FAIR practices.
 Mechanisms to encourage and facilitate the development of domain and
interdisciplinary standards (with particular attention to collection/study
level description, value-level concepts and provenance information.
 Important role for international, cross-disciplinary initiatives and fora in
development of practices, protocols and standards.

Components of a FAIR ecosystem
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Code
Metadata
Identifiers
Data
Registries
Policies and Protocols
Data Management Plans
Persistent and Unique
Identifiers
Standards
Repositories
Automated Workflows

Trusted Digital Repositories
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 FAIR data depends upon an ecosystem of trusted digital
repositories (including databases, domain and generic data
repositories and data services).
 Data repositories should be incentivised, supported and
funded to take the necessary steps towards accreditation
(with CoreTrustSeal as a minimum standard).
 Mechanisms need to be developed to ensure that the
repository ecosystem as a whole is fit for purpose, not just
assessed on a per repository basis.
– This includes sustainability, provision of domain and
multidisciplinary repositories, data services and handover
/ end of life processes.

Skills and Competencies
25
 As well as improving data skills in all researchers, steps need to be taken to
develop two cohorts of professionals to support FAIR data:
– data scientists embedded in those research projects which need them; and,
– data stewards who will ensure the management and curation of FAIR data.
 A concerted effort should be made to coordinate, systematise and accelerate the
pedagogy and availability of training for data skills, data science and data
stewardship, including:
– promoting and sharing curriculum frameworks and OERs;
– a coordinated and adequately-funded train-the-trainers programme (for data
science and data stewardship);
– a (lightweight) programme of certification and endorsement for organisations
delivering this training.

Metrics, Rewards and Recognition
26
 Metrics to support and encourage the transition to FAIR data practices should be
developed and implemented.
– The design of these metrics needs to be thorough and mindful of unintended
consequences.
– Metrics should also be monitored and regularly updated.
 Certification, evaluation or endorsement schemes are needed for the essential
components of the FAIR data ecosystem.
 Metrics, rewards and recognition for research contributions need to give
appropriate and significant weight to ‘publication’ of FAIR data
– All journal editorial boards and research communities should require and
recognise the availability of data underpinning ‘published’ findings.

Where next?
Image CC-BY-SA by alanszalwinski
www.flickr.com/photos/alanszalwinski/17117984129

FAIR Data EG: Timescale
28
May - June
Interim report due end
May
Launch at EOSC Summit
on 11th June in Brussels
June - October
Consult over Summer
Workshop arranged for
EOSC Summit
Webinars and other
stakeholder events to be
planned
November
Final report and FAIR
Data Action Plan due
Official launch and formal
communications at
Austrian Presidency
event in Vienna

How and where to engage with us?
29
 EIRG, in Sofia, 14-15 May http://e-irg.eu/workshop-2018-05-programme
 EOSC Summit, 11 June
 Webinar in mid-late June or in July – i.e. appropriate dates following the
EOSC summit
 International Data Week (IDW2018) sessions and possibly side events
(Gaborone, Botswana, 4-8 November) http://internationaldataweek.org
and https://www.scidatacon.org/IDW2018

What else do people need?
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 Consultation through EC mechanisms, EOSC summit and webinars.
What other mechanisms and channels would be useful to the
community to have input?
 Should we reopen GitHub consultation? In combination with the
webinars?
 Run more workshops? When, with which communities?

Turning FAIR data into reality

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