FAIRsFAIR Policy and Practice Survey 2019 data for D3.1_D3.2_D6.1 (1.0)

As part of the EOSC project family the FAIRsFAIR - Fostering Fair Data Practices in Europe - project aims to supply practical solutions for the use of the FAIR data principles throughout the research data life cycle. The FAIRsFAIR project runs from March 2019-February 2022. Landscaping activities have been a core activity during the initial stages of the FAIRsFAIR project and there has been close cooperation with colleagues in Work Package 3 carrying out the FAIR data policy and practice analyses; Work Package 2 on assessing FAIR requirements for interoperability and persistence; Work Package 6 on providing an overview of research communities’ needs for competence centres; and Work Package 7 on mapping RDM policies and support as well as FAIR education offerings in European HEIs. In particular, efforts were made to avoid duplication of effort across the three open consultation and survey instruments developed to assess the current landscape and to define a consistent approach to presenting our findings.

As part of the landscape analysis, FAIRsFAIR ran an open consultation on Policy and Practice which was made available via EU Survey from August 2 - September 27, 2019. The consultation was also made accessible from the FAIRsFAIR website. A total of 106 responses were submitted by research support staff from across Europe and beyond. The open consultation included both open-ended and closed questions which sought to identify the different levels of maturity with regards to FAIR practices among disciplines, the range of policies that influence the way that researchers work, and the sources of support currently available to researchers. In developing the questions, FAIRsFAIR worked collaboratively with several related initiatives including the EOSC 5B projects, the Group of European Data Experts in RDA (GEDE), and the EOSC FAIR Working Group and Landscape Working Group to avoid duplication of effort in our information collection. FAIRsFAIR will continue to cooperate with these and other initiatives over the life of the project. The open consultation targeted members of the research support community to gain insights on their views and experiences in relation to implementing the FAIR principles.