Report on the “FAIR Data Austria” Workshop at the Vienna University of Technology (Vienna, 8 September 2020)

Abstract

This report presents the results of a full-day workshop held with partners of the project FAIR Data Austria and a representative of the Horizon 2020 project EOSC-Pillar. The aim of the workshop was to determine the objective of a FAIR Office Austria. The participants explored whom a FAIR Office Austria should serve, who the partners and the clients are, which services it should offer as well as what is in scope and what is out of scope in relation to the overall project. The workshop was designed to find a clear mission statement and help the participants develop a common understanding and expectations. The results will be the basis for a concrete action plan. The participants agreed that a FAIR Office Austria should serve predominantly as an information hub and a mediator between (international) organizations (e.g. GO FAIR, EOSC, RDA) and local reference points located within the Austrian research institutions and other stakeholders. A FAIR Office Austria must furthermore be organized and run by several (research) institutions to reflect a truly trans-disciplinary, trans-institutional and national dimension. The local FAIR reference points shall be installed at research-performing institutions. Other types of institutions will be encouraged to appoint local reference points as well.