Rec. 23: Incentivise services to support FAIR data

[sjDCC]

Research facilities, in particular those of the ESFRI and national Roadmaps, should be incentivised to provide FAIR data by including it as a criteria in the initial and continuous evaluation process. Strategic research investments should consider service sustainability.

• The metrics and criteria by which research infrastructure are assessed should reference and build on the FAIR principles, incorporating language and concepts as appropriate, in order to align policy with implementation and to avoid confusion and dispersion of effort.
  Stakeholders: Funders, Data services.

• Investment in new tools, services and components of the FAIR data ecosystem must be made strategically in order to leverage existing investments and ensure services are sustainable.
  Stakeholders: Funders; Institutions.

[katerbow]

DFG position: Recommendation 23 seems to mix and to recombine some of the earlier recommendations. The overall objective of this recommendation is not clear beyond the notion that FAIR should be applied to everything. It should be reconsidered to focus and to restructure this recommendation in order to make the objectives clearer.

[ScienceEurope]

While there is nothing to disagree on, this recommendation seems to mix several previous recommendations. It should be considered to focus and restructure this recommendation for sake of clarity.

[eiroforum-it-wg]

EIROforum has published its input for the consultation which is available online (20180724-EIROforum-position-paper-EOSC.pdf). The paper highlights a number of practical points EIROforum members consider essential to ensure the EOSC can effectively interlink People, Data, Services and Training, Publications, Projects and Organisations, including aspects related to Rec. #23 “Incentivise services to support FAIR data”.

[ferag]

Existing e-infrastructure can support the development of new components oriented to FAIR data, but structural funds rather than specific project funds are required.

[pkdoorn]

Thumbs up.

[mromanie]

ESO position
Imposing adherence to FAIR principles as mandatory for becoming or remaining an ESFRI seems excessive, especially because FAIR-ness itself is not even fully defined and agreed upon yet (see also Rec 01). One thing is an incentive, a different one is an obligation.

[bertocco]

INAF (astronomy) position:
We suggest to group together in a smaller number the RECs speaking of funding, incentives, sustainability.

[perrin1024]

ILL position:

More and more RIs (ESFRIs) are publishing Data Policies based on FAIR principles and are opening their data. This is probably not any more a question of incentives (the promise of increased impact is well understood) but more often a question of budget or business model to cover the cost of services for data scientists (the necessary budget for operating the data services, the cost of transferring large data volume to 3rd parties, ...) that is not covered by the RI budget (wihch mainly target its funders' users).

[gtoneill]

Some overlap with previous recommendations including Recommendations 14 and 15 related to encouraging and rewarding FAIR Data as well as policy harmonisation. Perhaps merge?