FAIR Data Spaces
A data space is a distributed data system based on common guidelines and rules. The users of such a data space can access the data in a secure, transparent, trustworthy, simple and standardized manner. Data owners have control over who has access to their data and for what purpose and under what conditions it can be used. These data spaces enable digital sovereignty, as the data remains in the possession of the company or research institute until it is retrieved.
FAIR Data Spaces provide organisational, legal, technical and practical building blocks for a common, cloud-based Data Space for Industry and Research, by observing the FAIR-Principles. That means, data must be findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable.
A short overview about the project can be found here.
Main goals of the project are:
- create a roadmap for cooperation between the european, federated and secure data infrastructure Gaia-X and the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI)
- create the ethical and legal framework for data exchange between Research and Industry
- demonstrate the advantage of Gaia-X-Technology for use of research data according to FAIR principles in different fields of science and economy
The NFDI Association and numerous universities organized in NFDI consortia represent the research application domain. The industry-oriented Gaia-X side is represented by the Fraunhofer Society as well as Atos as a representative of the enterprises participating in Gaia-X. Further, particularly small enterprises, are involved in the project since June 2024.
At the kick-off of the project, consortium coordinator Dr. Christoph Lange-Bever, head of the Data Science and Artificial Intelligence department at Fraunhofer FIT, said, “in recent years, research as well as industry have made major steps towards standardized data infrastructures. The FAIR Data Spaces project now connects these worlds at their intersection, i.e., the joint use of research data – in an organizational, legal and technical way. Enterprises that are compatible with Gaia-X or planning to become compatible will thus gain easier access to research data.”
Prof. Dr. York Sure-Vetter, NFDI director, said, “I am happy that our joint project on FAIR Data Spaces is starting. The collaboration with Gaia-X enriches the NFDI, as many of our consortia are connected to industry and thus both sides, research as well as industry, are addressing similar questions about research data management. The FAIR Data Spaces project will help the existing and future NFDI consortia to provide research data according to the FAIR Principles and as freely and openly as possible.”
FAIR Data Spaces will run from May 2021 to December 2024 and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF).
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Publications within the FAIR DS Projects can be found on the FAIR Data Spaces Community of Zenodo.
Work packages
