Why FAIR data management and sharing?

The increasing availability of online resources means that data needs to be created with longevity in mind. By providing other researchers with access to your data, you are facilitating knowledge discovery and improving research transparency.

The FAIR data principles describe how research outputs should be organized so they can be easily accessed, understood, exchanged and reused. Many funding bodies promote FAIR data to maximize the integrity and impact of their research investments.

FAIR data principles are a good framework to follow when creating a data management plan (DMP). They are guiding principles on best practice to make data maximally reusable, but they are not standards. FAIR qualities can be achieved by different standards.

The approaches presented at the INCF Assembly span the entirety of the data lifecycle:

• Plan and design 
• Collect and create
• Analyze and collaborate
• Evaluate and archive
• Share and disseminate 
• Access and reuse
• Storage and maintenance