The Metroline - Steps for your FAIRification Workflow

The FAIR principles aim to make data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable, to maximize the reuse of (research) data. See the Health-RI website for more information on FAIR.

But, where do you start to make data FAIR? What steps are involved? What do these steps mean and, importantly, how do you implement these steps?

The FAIR Metroline provides practical guidance to help you reach your FAIR goals and make your data more FAIR. Each Metroline step includes a short description, aimed at a general audience, as well as a section describing the expertise that may be necessary for the how-to section. This expertise can vary greatly per step and can include, for example, data stewards, domain experts and legal experts.

A variety of models and publications which are used in practice were studied to identify common FAIRification steps, which resulted in the FAIR Metroline (see image above). Depending on your project and goals only a select number of steps may be relevant. Consequently, each project will have its specific workflow:

The FAIR Metroline is under development, in alignment with the development of the Dutch National Health Data Catalogue. Over the coming months, we will add detailed how-to descriptions and real-life examples of FAIR Metroline that will particularly help projects and initiatives to onboard (meta)data to the Dutch National Health Data Catalogue. This already is a first effective step to make your data more FAIR. We also collaborate with the /wiki/spaces/FSD/pages/33816783 and their efforts to stimulate incorporating FAIR into projects from the start.

For the current status of the steps see the status page.

How to contribute

The FAIR Metroline will be richer and more feasible to execute if we better consider the organisational context and existing best practices. As a result, the FAIR Metroline is a cooperative effort between the Health-RI Hub and Nodes, involving the many public and private organisations and initiatives that address the reuse of care and research data. We invite you to collaborate with us as we continue to refine the various FAIR Metroline phases. To find out more, e-mail fairservicedesk@health-ri.nl.

Overview Metroline steps

Models and further reading 

• The Metroline - Steps for your FAIRification Workflow

• Critical Steps towards Large-Scale Implementation of the FAIR Data Principles

• Processes and workflows assessed in the FAIR Metroline:

  • Generic

  • De Novo

  • FAIRopoly

  • FAIR Plus

  • GO FAIR

  • 5 Pillars of FAIRification (unpublished)

  • Trust Framework (unpublished)