Result description
OSTrails works on understanding/enabling the interoperability of Scientific Knowledge Graphs (SKGs for short), the interoperability of Data Management Plans (DMPs for short), to elucidate how they communicate with each other, and the interoperability of FAIR Assessment Tools (FAIR assessors), using common protocols. This concerns multiple types of interoperability: SKG to SKG, DMP to DMP, FAIR assessor to FAIR assessor, as well as interactions/interoperability between the three. OSTrails is concerned with defining the information flows (“pathways”) between the three kinds of technologies, as well as data schemata (how to share data from one to the other). This includes developing appropriate APIs to enable the three classes of tools to communicate with each other. In this, OSTrails is one of the most significant projects contributing to the EOSC interoperability framework, in that it is trying to connect three different types of services, with three corresponding steps in the research workflow: planning (DMPs), tracking/discovery (SKGs), and assessment (FAIR Assessors). The architecture is accompanied by a commons (see below) to provide shared resources to implement the framework.The DMP evaluation service will also be implemented (as this is currently missing from the landscape) in collaboration with 7 DMP platforms. OSTrails will extend the respective standards to support the project’s different pilots. The project develops new entities that will be introduced into SKGs (to be modelled with metadata, but also contain qualified references which are important to national pilots). The project develops national and thematic pilots (27 repositories and CRIS systems) and their repositories are going to be enhanced with these metadata.
Problem addressed
FAIR Assessment Results are rarely shared, so there needs to be a format/metadata schema to identify them when they are shared & include them in SKGs/DMPs. FAIR Assessment guidance: users need guidance on how FAIRness can be improved. Sharing and consensus in communities are addressed – there is currently a lack of consensus on what constitutes FAIRNess. The OSTrails commons (definition) and the tests for FAIRness will help to address this lack of consensus, in addition to providing tools and tests for FAIRness and streamlining criteria for FAIRness.
The OSTrails reference architecture is introduced along with three Interoperability Frameworks aligned with the project’s pillars: Data Management Plans (DMPs), Scientific Knowledge Graphs (SKGs), and FAIR Assessment. The reference architecture provides guidance on realising interactions between key components identified in the OSTrails pathways – see D1.1 Pathways. It clarifies which interactions are standardised within the Interoperability Frameworks and which are relevant to the project without prescribing specific implementation methods. A key project objective is to prevent vendor lock-in, ensuring tools and services can be used interchangeably in typical scenarios outlined by the pathways. For instance, any SKG conforming to the SKG-IF can seamlessly integrate with DMP tools to provide additional insights into reused datasets. D1.4 is closely linked to D2.5 – OSTrails Commons Specifications, which details the individual components of the Interoperability Frameworks.