ETH Zurich FAIR Coalition
Ensure that both humans and computers can easily find metadata and data.
Refine metadata and data descriptions for replication and integration.
Provide information on accessibility, possibly including authentication and authorisation.
Integrate data, and applications or workflows for analysis, storage, and processing.
FAIR Coalition project
In 2025, the Vice President for Research and the Vice President for Infrastructure and Sustainability have launched the FAIR Coalition project with the aim of implementing the FAIR principles - Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability - for digital research assets such as code, data, notes, metadata and images. The project aims to accelerate the implementation of the FAIR principles across ETH and to exploit synergies. It is monitored by the FAIR Board.
The building of the FAIR Coalition is subject to an iterative process. Following the call for individual signatures, research units (professorships, technology plattforms, centers, institutes) will be invited to join the Coalition in the course of spring 2026, to start addressing the implementation of the FAIR principles in concrete terms.
To start with, any ETH researcher or staff member may sign the Coalition's Charter to personally endorse and promote the FAIR principles in their research.
Signatories of the FAIR Coalition Charter commit to the following:
Commitments
1. We will make FAIR the default for our digital research assets.
2. We will use services, infrastructures, and policies that support FAIR.
3. We will support sustainable community building and data governance as foundations of scientific excellence.
4. We will actively support the collective transition to FAIR at ETH Zurich.
Planned initiatives
In addition to establishing the Coalition's governance, initiatives are to be launched to promote the implementation of FAIR. The following initiatives are envisioned to start in the summer of 2026. They are currently being developed by Open Science Working Group. The FAIR Board will then be responsible for their implementation.
1. Embed the FAIR principles in research units?
- Support the FAIR Coalition in the implementation of FAIR
- Strengthen central support activities
2. Enhance Research Data Management expertise?
- Develop further support for Data Stewards and Research Software Engineers based on experience with seed funding scheme
- Promote scientific integrity through data literacy at all levels
3. Connect to the EOSC Federation
- Build an EOSC node | Switzerland
- Onboard ETH resources and services
- Training and engagement
4. Organise a FAIR summit
- Programme for the Coalition
- Showcase successful FAIR projects
- Organise community engagment workshops and events
- Connect to EOSC tripartite event to be held in Switzerland