Equality of access to scientific data

Dutch initiative aims to encourage raw research data sharing to ensure replication of studies

In recognition of the challenges of reusing data in the global research community, the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) has announced a collaboration with several different entities to launch the Leiden Institute for FAIR and Equitable Science (LIFES), in Holland.

LIFES is a joint effort by 11 public and private academic organizations, including Leiden University Medical Center, to build a comprehensive, diversified network of members who wish to incorporate standards known by the abbreviation FAIR and promote fair reuse of data across their organizations.

The word FAIR is an acronym for Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable.

LIFES will facilitate access to applications and services compatible with FAIR, which should help to enhance collaborations between researchers across different disciplines and knowledge areas.

Thus, LIFES intends to contribute to the replicability of research by encouraging the disclosure of primary information collected so that other researchers can verify the relevance and accuracy of published results. Access to third-party scientific data may also benefit future studies.

The idea is to help reduce deficiencies in current models and methodologies, which present unnecessary barriers to equal data access.

LIFES is also set to take the lead on obtaining public and private funding for the development of strategic capacities in this respect.

On setting out the bases for a fair, equal data ecosystem, which can be replicated around the globe, LIFES “meets the needs of the research community and satisfies the growing quest for solutions addressing the challenges of a world that increasingly depends on data-based decision-making,” according to a report on the website Research Information.

Artificial intelligence

“Data accessibility is becoming more and more central to research, and a quantifiable sense of data reproducibility is paramount for research-intensive organizations, particularly in this age of generative artificial intelligence (AI),” said Babis Marmanis, executive vice president and CTO of the CCC.

“The LIFES mission is to promote scientific investigation and innovation, which is important for the CCC and for our partners and clients. Datasets that follow the FAIR principles can stimulate innovation, promote inclusion, and support sustainability,” he concluded.

As more organizations adopt machine learning and AI, FAIR data becomes vital in enabling the use of information for the machines.

These principles consider the functional capacity of the technologies, allowing AI systems to automatically access increasingly complex volumes of data on a large scale.

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