Investments in action

What are examples of real life use cases?

The six-steps are already being applied across multiple data-rich Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Agriculture Development (AgDev) investments, including the CGIAR recipe book project, the Ethiopia Digital Agriculture Roadmap, and the SIS Framework. The framework is helping investments to plan for FAIR data practices from the outset, align stakeholders, and measure progress towards achieving FAIR outcomes.

 

Every investment can benefit from FAIR and responsible data practices, and every project and its partners apply them according to their needs and the context of the research.

Investments in action

CGIAR: Recipe books Ethiopia: Ethiosis and the Digital Agriculture Roadmap (DAR) ISRIC: Soil Information Systems (SIS)

Investments in action

The recipe books provide guidelines for developing data management and access plans (DMAPs) to CGIAR agriculture development investments, with a focus on overcoming technical, cultural, and policy barriers to data management best practice.

Ethiopia’s National Soil Information System (NSIS) was developed alongside a national data sharing policy, demonstrating the importance of a people-first approach. This project informed what has now become the six steps in the FAIR Process Framework, paving the way for updated soil maps and better agricultural decision-making across the country.

ISRIC applied the activities from the six-step FAIR process framework to create a sustainable, scalable, and FAIR-compliant national soil information systems.

How are the steps being applied?

The six-step framework has been codeveloped by many people in many geographies. Each time an activity has happened, CABI’s Enabling Data Access (EDA) team has applied a feedback loop of continuous learning to create the activities on this website.

 

Here is an overview of how the FAIR Process Framework is being applied within these three use cases:

Step 1: Discovery

• This initial step involves assessing the current state of data ecosystems within projects. For example, in the CGIAR recipe book initiative, stakeholders identify existing data barriers and opportunities for improvement.

Step 2: Understanding

• This phase focuses on analyzing the enabling environment and identifying key stakeholders. In projects like the Ethiopia Digital Agriculture Roadmap (DAR), teams engage with various stakeholders to map out their roles and the challenges they face in data sharing. During the development of the SIS Framework in Zambia, applying step 2 helped identify where existing data was and potential cost-savings.

Step 3: Planning

• Here, teams prioritize data assets and outline strategies for making them FAIR. The CGIAR initiative develops baseline assessment tools to help grantees determine which data assets to focus on for maximum impact.

Step 4: Co-developing

• This critical step emphasizes stakeholder engagement. For instance, during the Ethiopian Digital Agriculture Roadmap (DAR) project, stakeholders collaboratively identify data-sharing challenges and co-create solutions to enhance data governance.

Step 5: Strategy

• This step documents the agreed-upon governance policies and management plans.

   

  In the CGIAR context, Data Management Access Plans (DMAPs) are created to guide grantees in implementing FAIR practices effectively.

   

  Implementing: The final step operationalizes the FAIR principles through concrete actions.

   

  In CGIAR projects, this includes establishing technical measures and protocols to ensure data is findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. These steps collectively aim to foster a culture of responsible data management, ultimately enhancing the quality and utility of data across foundation investments.

Insight from Ethiopia:

FAIR data practices are as much about people as technology.

Dr Negussie Efa, Country Programmes Manager, Africa, CABI