FAIR in practice - Jisc report on the Findable Accessible Interoperable and Reuseable Data Principles

This report investigates the meaning and (potential) impact of the FAIR data principles in practice. These principles were established by a group of diverse stakeholders engaging via a working group in FORCE11. They are referenced in many policy documents and in developments of open science, for example, the European Open Science Cloud. This report explored FAIR with stakeholders in the UK academic research community. Its aims were to understand how using or being inspired by these principles improves the findability, accessibility, interoperability and reuse of research data, including consideration of disciplinary differences. Jisc established a group of research data experts and Jisc staff who provided expertise and helped to validate findings. Interviews and focus groups were conducted, primarily with researchers, but also involving input from research support professionals, publishers and funders. An assessment of the use of FAIR principles in institutional research data management (RDM) guidance was also carried out. Data collected from these activities was synthesised and structured using a PEST framework - grouped into factors relating to Political, Economic, Social and Technical aspects. Explicit use of FAIR was seen to be limited, in many cases, to discussion at a fairly conceptual level amongst those most heavily involved in best practice of data management. Even where FAIR was fairly well established as a term and a concept, it tended to largely reflect existing practice. Arguably this was without significantly influencing many practical changes for those at the “leading edge” of data management, although it did provide a new and effective common way of communicating best practice. However, in exploring the underlying practices of research, demonstrating findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability, there was considerable evidence that good practice existed in all of these elements. In many cases this was both well established (over many years) and continually improving