Concept
FAIR
FAIR is a set of guiding principles for making data findable, accessible, interoperable (able to work across systems) and reusable. It is not a standard.
How it connects
Related to
- FAIR relates to Dataverse.
- FAIR relates to FAIR4RS Principles. Adapts the FAIR Guiding Principles from data to software.
- FAIR relates to FAIRsharing. Built explicitly to help align resources with the FAIR principles.
- FAIR relates to FORCE11. The FAIR Guiding Principles were drafted and disseminated within this community.
- FAIR relates to Metadata. Findability and interoperability depend on rich metadata.
- FAIR relates to Open data. FAIR data does not have to be open; openness is a separate decision.
- FAIR relates to Research data management. Principles for managing research data so that it can be reused.
- FAIR relates to UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science. Advisory only. It names FAIR (and CARE) as guiding principles for open data and infrastructure, without creating a binding obligation.
Links
Details
Also known as: FAIR Principles, Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable
Description
FAIR is a set of guiding principles, not a standard or a certification: the principles define no conformance test or certification of their own. They were drafted by the FORCE11 community, launched at a workshop in 2014 and published in 2016; the GO FAIR initiative promotes and interprets them. Standards, repositories and policies can implement or point to FAIR, but FAIR itself is the idea they relate to. It is also not a requirement to open data: it separates access, which is decided by whoever holds the data, from description. That is why it can also be applied to sensitive data that cannot be opened.
Attributes
| url | https://www.gofair.foundation/fair-principles/ |
|---|---|
| identifiers | wikidata: Q29032644 |
| status | active |
| governance | Not applicable |
| prominence | extended |
| type | Concept |
| Tags | region: global |
Sources
- https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2016.18(opens in a new tab) (accessed 2026-11-13): Wilkinson et al. 2016, Scientific Data. First formal publication of the FAIR Guiding Principles, described as guidelines to improve the reusability of data.
- https://www.gofair.foundation/fair-principles/(opens in a new tab) (accessed 2026-11-13): Calls them the FAIR Guiding Principles, a reference for guiding implementation of findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability.
- https://force11.org/info/the-fair-data-principles/(opens in a new tab) (accessed 2026-11-13): Describes them as a set of guiding principles, launched at a Lorentz workshop in 2014 and published in 2016.
- https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29032644(opens in a new tab) (accessed 2026-11-13): The knowledge-base record types it as an initiative and a conceptual framework, subclass of principle; it is not typed as a standard.
Last reviewed: 2026-11-13
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