The FAIR Cookbook - the essential resource for and by FAIR doers

The FAIR Principles1 have revolutionized scientific data management, uniting stakeholders around guidelines for making data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. These principles are crucial for reproducibility, rigorous evaluation, and extensive reuse of data, benefiting both creators and users. The FAIR movement has gained global acceptance, influencing funding agreements, scholarly publishing practices, and organizational guidelines across sectors. In the Life Sciences, where FAIR originated, public and private organizations are actively implementing these principles to unlock data's potential. Despite widespread adoption, a significant gap persists between expectations and practical guidance. Two key challenges hinder FAIR implementation: (1) navigating the path to FAIRness within organizations or projects is difficult due to the aspirational nature of FAIR Principles and the lack of a one-size-fits-all solution. The journey is a continuum, and generic FAIR guidance lacks practical, domain-specific examples. (2) Accurately evaluating the costs and benefits of FAIR data is challenging, making it difficult to justify investments. Success stories are often anecdotal. The FAIR Cookbook (https://faircookbook.elixir-europe.org) directly addresses these challenges. Developed collaboratively by academics, (bio)pharmaceutical companies, and information service providers, it offers practical, hands-on "recipes" for achieving FAIR data. This paper details the Cookbook's creation, content, value, adoption, and collaborative plans for long-term sustainability.

The introduction cites several key works supporting the importance of FAIR data and the challenges in its implementation. Wilkinson et al. (2016) introduced the FAIR Principles, while Wise et al. (2019) discussed their relevance in biopharmaceutical research. Other cited works include papers on data curation (Gu et al., 2021), FAIR implementation guidelines (Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, 2018; Engelhardt et al., 2022; Sustkova et al., 2020), cultural change in data management (Martone & Nakamura, 2022; Bjaalie et al., 2022), cost-benefit analysis of FAIR data (Alharbi et al., 2021; Alharbi et al., 2022; Alharbi et al., 2023), and FAIR assessment frameworks (Wilkinson et al., 2019; Clark et al., 2019). These sources establish the existing knowledge gap that the FAIR Cookbook aims to fill.

The FAIR Cookbook employs a community-driven, open-source approach. Its technical infrastructure utilizes Jupyter Book, GitHub for version control and continuous integration, HackMD for collaborative markdown editing, Jupyter Notebooks for executable code, and Binder for cloud-based execution of notebooks. Content management relies on Jupyter Book’s markdown capabilities and HackMD integration, with additional support for Google Docs and direct GitHub contributions. A standardized visual identity, using Font Awesome icons and the Mermaid JavaScript library for diagrams, ensures consistent presentation. Persistent identifiers (w3id.org) are used for recipes, with ORCID and CreDiT for author attribution. The FAIR Cookbook integrates with the FAIR-DSM maturity model, displaying maturity levels and indicators for each recipe. Search engine optimization is achieved using sitemap.xml and JSON-LD markup. A custom search wizard enhances findability, allowing filtering by various criteria. The Cookbook's FAIRness is ensured through unique identifiers, metadata standards (schema.org, Bioschemas), JSON-LD markup, cross-links, and the CC BY 4.0 license. The editorial process mirrors that of scholarly publication, with peer review and credited contributions. Content creation during the initial phase involved a combined top-down and bottom-up approach, guided by a prospective table of contents and use cases from projects and companies. A Docker-based version simplifies deployment and local testing. Zenodo integration automates DOI generation for releases. The FAIR Cookbook itself is registered in identifiers.org with a dedicated namespace.

As of February 2023, the FAIR Cookbook contains over 82 production-grade recipes. These recipes combine guidance, technical instructions, and hands-on examples, organized around FAIR principles and specific topics (software infrastructure, FAIRness assessment, exemplar FAIRified datasets). The recipe format includes summary cards showing reading time, difficulty, target audience, and FAIR maturity levels and indicators. The Cookbook serves a variety of users (researchers, data stewards, technical professionals) and scenarios. The search function and a "forewords" section help users find relevant recipes. Applied examples from IMI/IHI projects demonstrate real-world FAIRification processes. The contributor base includes nearly 100 professionals from over 40 organizations, fostering diverse expertise and synergistic approaches. The FAIRplus Fellowship Programme provided feedback and contributed improvements. The Cookbook's value is validated through its use as educational material, practical guidance, and a driver of cultural change in data management. Specific examples of its impact in (bio)pharmaceutical companies (Janssen, Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca) are provided, illustrating its use in return-on-investment discussions, data lake design, ontology application, and metadata FAIRification. The FAIR Cookbook has received significant international support and endorsement, including recommendations from the European Commission and its adoption as an ELIXIR service. Collaborations exist with other initiatives like the RDMkit and Pistoia Alliance. Long-term sustainability is ensured through a multi-layered strategy encompassing infrastructure (lightweight, open-source), content (distributed responsibility, credited contributions, cross-linking), embedding (in training programs, ELIXIR), and endorsements (funding agencies, international organizations). Future developments include the creation of Domain Boards for specialized areas, potential for organization-specific instances, improved user guidance on maturity levels, refined search functionality, and systematic feedback collection.

The FAIR Cookbook successfully bridges the gap between high-level FAIR Principles and practical implementation in the Life Sciences. Its success stems from the timely delivery of specialized content, the crediting of expertise and contributions, and the promotion of collaborations. The Cookbook's open, collaborative nature has fostered a growing international community of contributors and users. The multi-layered approach to sustainability addresses infrastructure, content, embedding, and endorsements, ensuring the long-term impact of this essential resource. Future directions include expanding the content, addressing specific domain needs, and improving user experience.

The FAIR Cookbook provides a valuable, practical resource for achieving FAIR data in the Life Sciences. Its collaborative, open-source model has fostered a thriving community and ensured its broad adoption and impact. Future work will focus on expanding content, refining the user experience, and further solidifying its role as a cornerstone resource within the FAIR data landscape.

While the FAIR Cookbook has achieved significant success, certain limitations exist. The ongoing need for community engagement to maintain and expand the content is crucial. The Cookbook's effectiveness relies on the active participation of contributors and reviewers. The potential for bias in the selection and focus of the recipes is present, though the diverse author base helps mitigate this issue. Further research is needed to comprehensively evaluate the long-term impact of the FAIR Cookbook on data management practices.