Over the past few months, OSTrails hosted the first part of its webinar series focused on the Interoperability Frameworks (IFs) being developed under the OSTrails Reference Architecture. As the foundation for interoperable research tools, this architecture responds to the research community’s growing need for tools that support seamless collaboration and information exchange. The three sessions covered the FAIR Assessments IF, the Data Management Plans IF (DMP-IF), and the Scientific Knowledge Graphs IF (SKG-IF), and brought together nearly 300 participants in total.

“We are building on top of the DMP Common Standard from RDA by creating an application profile and API specification for DMP platforms, enabling interoperability, extensibility, and alignment with real-world needs such as policy compliance and support for diverse research outputs.”

- Marek Suchánek

Main message.

The central message of the series is clear: interoperability and seamless knowledge exchange are essential for modern research. To improve transparency, efficiency, and sustainability across research workflows, digital tools and infrastructures must be able to work together across domains, platforms, and services.

Session Highlights

FAIR Assessments IF (previously FAIR-IF): Mark Wilkinson (UPM) introduced the FAIR Assessment Interoperability Framework, addressing the lack of coordination across assessment tools and inconsistent interpretations of FAIR principles. The framework proposes a component model that includes dimensions, benchmarks, metrics, tests, and algorithms. It supports interoperability and is designed to be embedded in tools such as DMP platforms to provide real-time, standardised feedback.

“We want to design and publish metrics and tests for a wider range of digital objects beyond data and including domain specific assessments.”

- Mark Wilkinson

DMP-IF: Marek Suchánek (CTU) presented DMP-IF as a solution to fragmentation and lack of machine-actionable in current data management plans. Building on the RDA DMP Common Standard, it introduces an application profile and a common API, enabling platforms to uniformly integrate with FAIR assessment tools, repositories, and SKGs while adjusting the by-design generic Common Standard for European research ecosystem. The framework supports policy compliance and diverse output types and will be supported by technical resources in the OSTrails Commons.

SKG-IF: Andrea Mannocci (CNR), introduced the SKG-IF and its importance in enabling cross-disciplinary research through semantic and technical interoperability. The session highlighted challenges posed by isolated knowledge graphs that lack structural or semantic alignment. Building on top of the RDA model, the SKG-IF provides a common data model, API specifications, and an extension mechanism to support alignment and integration across systems. These elements enable seamless data exchange and foster collaboration across diverse platforms and domains.

Why was it important for OSTrails? 

The webinar series provided OSTrails with a high-impact opportunity to present its core technical developments and engage with the broader community. The events helped validate the project’s direction, and practical feedback surfaced, from inconsistencies in FAIR metrics to technical needs for DMP platform integration and SKG alignment. These insights are now shaping the ongoing refinement of each framework to better support real-world use cases.

“The SKG-IF isn’t magic. There’s no central implementation or governing body that operates a service or infrastructure to enable dialogue between different SKGs. That might sound reductive, but in essence, SKG-IF is a set of guidelines. Anyone who wants their SKG to be interoperable with others and compliant with SKG-IF must follow these guidelines.”

- Andrea Mannocci

Why was it important for the Research Community in general?

The series enabled the research community to directly engage with emerging frameworks and provide input early in their development. Rather than duplicating existing standards, the frameworks aim to complement and extend them, addressing real barriers to automation, integration, and reuse by:

• Improving trust and comparability of assessments;

• Enabling dynamic, machine-actionable data management planning;

• Supporting semantic alignment and reuse of scholarly metadata.

In doing so, they contribute meaningfully to the broader aims of open science, infrastructure alignment, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Conclusions

The OSTrails webinars highlighted a shared need across the research landscape for more aligned, automated, and interoperable infrastructures. Each framework is helping to bridge gaps, whether in FAIR evaluation, data management automation, or SKG integration, and their development is being guided by community input. As they evolve, the IFs are poised to support a more open, trustworthy, and connected research ecosystem.

Further Resources

Explore the full webinar series and access resources (recordings and slides) here.

Discover the documentation for the OSTrails Interoperability Architecture and its three Interoperability Frameworks here.

The recent maDMP API Hackathon, held on 27 May in Vienna, marked a significant milestone in the journey towards making research data management (RDM) more efficient and machine-actionable. This collaborative event brought together experts with a clear objective: to standardise the way that Data Management Planning platforms interact in an automated way with other RDM services.

Key takeaways from the event

• The "Common maDMP API - preliminary design" is officially closed following the hackathon, providing a stable foundation for implementation.

• A common CRUD (Create, Retrieve, Update, Delete) operation was firmly established for each entity within the API.

• Decisions were made regarding consistent HTTP status codes and error handling.

• It was agreed that each tool will handle its own authentication and authorisation mechanisms, offering flexibility, though OpenID Connect (OIDC) was recommended for future common ground.

• DMP versioning will not be supported in the API.

What was the main message?

In this context, the hackathon served as a catalyst for finalising critical design discussions on the topic, leading to a successful outcome: the establishment of a stable, common blueprint for a machine-actionable Data Management Plan (maDMP) API. This API will primarily enable the seamless creation, modification, updating, filtering, and even potential deletion of DMPs, forming the essential baseline for future interoperability of data.

Why is it important for OSTrails?

For OSTrails, this hackathon is a crucial step towards its mission of delivering the Commons to Plan-Track-Assess research in European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). OSTrails aims to streamline FAIRness, interconnectivity, and machine-actionability across all phases of research. Data Management Plans are a core pillar of the OSTrails project, and a standardised maDMP API is vital for achieving its goal of co-developing and testing fit-for-purpose solutions for FAIRness and machine-actionability across diverse domains and national settings. Building on the OSTrails Reference Architecture, which provides the foundational blueprint for interoperable research tools and ensures alignment across all OSTrails pillars (FAIR, SKG, and DMP), the finalised API directly supports making Data Management Plans more robust and integrated within the broader research ecosystem.

Why is it important for Open Science in general?

This API is important for Open Science because it facilitates the machine-actionability of Data Management Plans, moving them beyond static documents to dynamic, integrable entities. This advancement is key to enhancing the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) for research data. By standardising how DMPs interact across different tools and platforms, the API fosters greater interoperability within EOSC. This means better governance, tracking, and assessment of research data, ultimately contributing to a more efficient and transparent research landscape globally.

Impressions

The hackathon was characterised by lively discussions and a strong collaborative spirit, especially when tackling complex topics. One of the key outcomes was the successful conclusion of ongoing negotiations around the API design, culminating in the closure of the Common maDMP API - preliminary design document, now considered stable. This outcome reflected a focused and productive working environment, with participants working effectively together to reach consensus on critical technical matters.

Conclusions

The hackathon marks a major leap forward in making Data Management Plans truly machine-actionable and interoperable. The consensus reached and the finalised preliminary design provide a solid foundation for DMP providers to begin implementing the API. This collaborative effort is essential for building a robust infrastructure that supports researchers, institutions, and funders in creating a cohesive, machine-actionable Open Science ecosystem aligned with FAIR-by-design principles and the broader EOSC vision. The event also underscores the power of community-driven development in addressing complex technical challenges for the benefit of the wider research community.

Read the Interview with the Thematic Pilot for Marine and Coastal Sciences to discover the latest updates on OSTrails pilot studies. Explore pilots progress in integrating open science principles and advancing research assessment. This month we had the pleasure of speaking with Oana Dragomir, Miguel Charcos Llorens and Nikolaos Zarokanellos, of SOCIB. 

- Oana Dragomir	- Miguel Charcos Llorens	- Nikolaos Zarokanellos

"Through the OSTrails pilot, SOCIB is enhancing the way we manage, track, and share our marine data by implementing tools that increase visibility, reusability, and interoperability of our research assets. This strengthens our role as a trusted provider of high-quality, open marine data and helps ensure our work supports scientific collaboration and innovation in marine research."

-Can you briefly introduce your organisation? How does it contribute to EOSC?  

The Balearic Islands Coastal Observing and Forecasting System (SOCIB, its acronym in Spanish) is a Spanish Unique Scientific and Technical Infrastructure dedicated to sustained ocean observations and forecasting services in the western Mediterranean. It operates a multi-platform system that collects high-quality oceanographic and meteorological data, providing open access through its certified data repository accredited by CoreTrustSeal. SOCIB is also recognised as an Associate Data Unit under the UNESCO International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange organization (IODE ADU), a designation aligned with CoreTrustSeal that acknowledges its role in the global ocean data system and its adherence to the internationally accepted FAIR data management practices . SOCIB is a partner in Blue-Cloud 2026, a project that aims to lay the foundation for a sustained marine data infrastructure that will contribute to EOSC node for EOSC as a thematic node for the marine and earth sciences. Blue-Cloud is pursuing this goal by federating leading European marine data infrastructures and EOSC-core services into a common ecosystem, developing FAIR-compliant Virtual Research Environments (VREs), and promoting open science practices to support research, policy and the blue economy. Furthermore, SOCIB aims to align with EOSC principles of ensuring open, FAIR-compliant data, advancing marine science and innovation, supporting interdisciplinary collaboration, and promoting ocean literacy.

-What are you most excited about in OSTrails? What are you looking forward to?   

We are especially excited about adopting the Scientific Knowledge Graph Interoperability Framework (SKG IF) to map our institutional research assets in a structured, machine-readable graph. This will significantly enhance visibility and interoperability with other SKGs, for example with those provided by OpenAIRE and FAIRsharing, which can help us track publications and enhance alignment with community standards and FAIR practices. Combining this graph with tools for monitoring and assessing data processes will facilitate deeper integration with EOSC and support the development of Digital Twins of the Ocean. Ultimately, this pilot marks a significant milestone for SOCIB’s evolution toward becoming a long-term, open-access marine data platform for the Mediterranean, offering advanced data management, interoperability with other disciplines, and technical services to serve the marine community needs.

-How is planning, tracking and assessing research being realised in your scientific domain?

Planning 
In marine science, research planning typically follows well-defined workflows and established best practices, with responsibilities and resources clearly allocated. We are increasingly benefiting from automation tools and the use of Data Management Plans (DMPs). One of our next goals is to evolve our current static Glider DMP template into a dynamic, machine-actionable DMP (maDMP), building on the RDA DMP Common Standard, which forms an integral part of the OSTrails DMP Interoperability Framework.

Tracking 
Tracking is essential for monitoring the dissemination, reuse, and impact of research outputs. It enhances transparency and accountability, ensuring public institutions meet performance goals and secure sustained funding. The Scientific Knowledge Graph (SKG) will be instrumental in tracing digital objects (DOs) related to the data flow—especially datasets—across external portals, scholarly publications, and associated software and instruments. We are building on the JERICO-SKG implementing the OSTrails SKG-IF requirements and developing the SOCIB SKG as a demonstration for tracking ocean glider data and associated assets. We aim to deploy the SOCIB SKG in the virtual environment of Blue-Cloud and make it available for the marine community.

Assessing 
Current assessment practices are primarily focused on institutional reporting requirements, which are only partially automated and offer limited coverage of the data lifecycle. We are working to expand this by incorporating metrics related to data creation, usage, and accessibility. A key objective is to implement FAIR assessments for datasets. While the specific FAIR tests are still to be selected, their integration and evaluation outputs will be central to ensuring data quality and compliance with Open Science principles. Additionally, we are strengthening operational monitoring—checking, for instance, whether glider systems are functioning correctly—and will build this functionality alongside the SKG infrastructure.

-Can you provide some details on your pilot's main actors, services and priorities? How will your pilot adopt the results of OSTrails?

We are honoured to lead this thematic pilot on behalf of the ENVRI community, building on the foundation laid by the JERICO project, which endorsed our participation in OSTrails. SOCIB plays a key role in this effort, contributing high resolution coastal ocean data to JERICO—particularly from our glider platforms, while serving as a testbed for new software tools and workflow innovations. Our main objective is to establish and operationalise the SOCIB SKG, a system designed to support the full glider data lifecycle in alignment with FAIR principles.

We have three main priorities:

• First, we are working to align SOCIB and JERICO-SKG with the OSTrails SKG-IF, adopting the common data model and exchange protocols to ensure seamless data flow across systems.

• Second, we aim to strengthen FAIR compliance by implementing the OSTrails Assessment-IF and evaluating the FAIRness of digital objects (DOs). 
  
• Third, we will implement operational assessments to support our research data management.

We will directly adopt OSTrails results by embedding FAIR assessments into our workflows and integrating our research assets into the OSTrails SKG framework. These enhancements will first be tested at SOCIB and then scaled through Blue-Cloud to benefit the wider JERICO and ENVRI communities.

-Ongoing activities and Next Steps? 

We are developing a data management and monitoring platform designed to increase automation across the glider data workflow and support comprehensive reporting. In parallel, we are adopting the SKG data model and creating agents to query external repositories effectively. Once the pilot is officially underway, our focus will shift to completing the implementation of the SKG and Assessment-IF requirements.

At the recent EGI2025 conference, held from June 2nd to June 6th at the stunning Palacio de la Magdalena in Santander (Spain), OSTrails made a strong impression by showcasing practical approaches to enabling FAIR, open, and reproducible science within data-intensive research environments — a participation that held a pleasant surprise for the project!

Key takeaways from the event

• There is strong demand for tools that reduce complexity, not add to it.

• Researchers need help with reproducibility, and OSTrails offers a clear path forward.

• Interoperability is top of mind, and OSTrails is well-positioned to contribute with its cross-domain, composable approach.

• Also: People do read posters—and sometimes even give you awards for them. 

What was the main message of the OSTrails contribution?

OSTrails puts researchers at the centre by supporting every stage of the data lifecycle -from planning and metadata creation to FAIRness assessment, publication, and reuse. The OSTrails poster at EGI2025 illustrates how OSTrails' modular tools, including machine-actionable DMPs, FAIR assessment pipelines, and Scientific Knowledge Graphs, can be seamlessly integrated into existing workflows. Rather than adding more burden, OSTrails aims to make researchers’ lives easier, their data more reusable, and their science more reproducible. The research community embraced the contribution, awarding it the Best Poster Award at EGI2025 — a clear endorsement of OSTrails’ commitment to delivering concrete, impactful solutions for the scientific community.

"And the best poster award goes to.. Anca Hienola"

Why was the event important for OSTrails?

Presenting at EGI2025 gave OSTrails visibility in one of the communities that build and run the infrastructure behind European science. It was a key moment to showcase how OSTrails is bridging the gap between high-level FAIR/Open Science policy and the realities of researchers’ daily work, and how our tools complement existing infrastructural services.

Why was the event important for Open Science in general?

Open Science isn't just about openness - it's about making science reproducible, reusable, and efficient. OSTrails helps move the conversation from ideals to implementation by offering tools that embed FAIRness and automation directly into research workflows. This contributes to a more mature and usable Open Science ecosystem.

Impressions

The EGI2025 atmosphere was genuinely collaborative, and OSTrails stood out as a project that's not just “another project,” but a set of researcher-facing solutions. Attendees were particularly pleased by how OSTrails brings together technical components (like metadata enrichment and assessment pipelines) in a way that’s actually usable.

Discussions around OSTrails poster presentation. 

Conclusions from attending the event.

OSTrails is clearly aligned with the current needs of both researchers and infrastructure providers. The event confirmed that our emphasis on automation, modularity, and usability is not only relevant but urgently needed. It also opened doors for future collaborations—particularly in integrating OSTrails tools into the broader EOSC ecosystem and other e-infrastructures frameworks.

"Open Science isn't something you just comply with—it should make your life as a researcher easier. OSTrails is building the tools to make that actually happen." 

-Anca Hienola, OSTrails project partner and Best Poster Award winner at EGI2025