The FAIRification Process

The FAIRification Process structures the FAIRification project into 4 distinct phases described below.

A. Define FAIRification Goal - set realistic and practical goals

Before any FAIRification work is undertaken, it is essential to identify the intended usability of the data that cannot be achieved in its current state. From this, one or more clear and specific FAIRification goals should be defined. Since FAIRification efforts incur costs and may not produce equally valuable benefits, it is advisable to establish an acceptable “FAIR enough” end state – one in which the most critical capabilities are achieved, while less impactful enhancements may be set aside. To be actionable, these goals must be translated into concrete tasks to transition the data from current to target state.

B. Project Examination - initial project examination

FAIRification is challenging if the project’s capabilities and resources are not fully understood from the beginning. It is therefore essential to:

• Identify Data Requirements
  For example, goals relating to data hosting improvements cannot be fulfilled if data is not available or accessible or if the project partners have not reached an agreement on the appropriate licensing and data use conditions.
• Identify FAIRification Capabilities & Resources
  For example, assess the needed expertise and plan accordingly for budget and personnel availability.
• Produce the FAIRification Backlog
  For example, for some or all sections of the project examination, list the current and projected status of each individual task. The FAIRification Workplan may support this process – see below for details.

C. Iterative FAIRification Cycles

The practical phase of the FAIRification Process centers on the FAIRification Cycle, which consists of three distinct stages: Assessment, Design, and Implementation. This phase typically involves multiple FAIRification Cycles applied iteratively. Each cycle focuses on a defined set of tasks within an agreed timeframe.

• Assessment Pre- and post-assessments are conducted at the beginning and end of each FAIRification Cycle iteration to evaluate FAIR improvements and track the status of individual tasks.
• Design During the design stage, concrete steps are identified to achieve the FAIRification tasks identified for this cycle. If needed, one could also use the concrete steps identified from the FAIRification template. These steps form the FAIRification workplan to be realised during the implementation stage.
• Implementation During this phase, the planned tasks are executed within the established timeframe. However, it is important to note that some tasks may remain incomplete, be postponed, or even abandoned during a given iteration.

D. Post-FAIRification Review

In this final phase, the cumulative outputs of all FAIRification activities are reviewed against the initial project goals to evaluate the overall success of the process. The review should include a summary of key achievements, documented FAIR improvements, an overview of the FAIRification processes, and any lessons learned.