FAIR Digital Objects (FAIR DOs) describe a concept of virtual data objects that has been developed and used by RDA in various Working and Interest Groups. FAIR DOs may represent data, software, or other research resources. They are uniquely identified by a Persistent Identifier (PID) and metadata rich enough to enable them to be reliably found, used and cited. FAIR DOs are currently discussed world-wide, in many RDA groups, in the European Open Science Cloud, the FAIR Digital Object Forum [https://fairdo.org], as well as in other initiatives with the need to design and develop large integrative research data infrastructures to facilitate findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability (FAIR).
The FAIR Digital Object Fabric IG (FDOF-IG) updated its charter in 2021 October following a BoF session at P15 in 2020 March, changing the scope from the more general “Data Fabric”. One of the four bulleted objectives in the renewed charter states that the group will “bridge with the work in the FAIR Digital Object Forum and connect to related digital publishing activities across the globe.” Since the 2021 re-chartering of the group, parallel initiatives like the FDO Forum have grown quite rapidly. (The FDO Forum hosted its first international conference in October 2022, hosted an implementation summit in 2024 March, and authored numerous formal documents across its six working groups.) At the same time, the number of RDA groups working on topics related to the FAIR principles has also grown, as evidenced by the broad participation in the first RDA FAIR Communities Cross-Fertilisation Workshop held in 2023.
In response to these developments, we would like to organise a strategic planning session focussed on coordinating dialogs across FDOF IG, other RDA FAIR groups, and external initiatives like the FAIR Digital Object Forum. This working session will seek audience input on the optimal activities of the FDOF IG for the near future (1-2 years). Some of the questions that will be addressed in this working session may include (but are not limited to):
– How should the FDOF IG structure future monthly and plenary meetings? (Scheduling, mix of business meetings and “project shares”, etc.)
– Which projects and initiatives would you like us to invite?
– What FDO-related themes (conceptual and technological) could be explored through future RDA “cross-fertilisation” workshops?
– Are there any needs where FDOF-IG could facilitate the creation of a formal RDA working group or an informal task group?
We emphasize that this working session is focused on identifying and prioritizing the activities of the FDOF IG. Furthermore, during our upcoming monthly meetings, the FDOF IG will continue to refine the facilitation plan for the strategic planning session at P23.
