Source: RDM Team RWTH Aachen University
On the occasion of Research Data Day in North Rhine-Westphalia (TdF) on November 18, 2025, we would like to give you a preview of our “RDM Practice” and “RDM Services” arenas. These are worth venturing into on Research Data Management (RDM) Day. This article provides an overview of the poster contribution “Playing FAIR with Base4NFDI – Scoring Across Scientific Disciplines” by Base4NFDI. Join us on TdF, engage in dialogue with the contributors and enjoy networking opportunities with other RDM enthusiasts!
Brief Description of the Initiative
Base4NFDI (Basic Services for the National Research Data Infrastructure) is a central overarching NFDI project. Its task is to develop, coordinate, and provide basic services that are collaboratively developed, shared, reused, and continuously improved by all NFDI consortia and beyond.
By establishing and maintaining common infrastructures, standards, and interfaces, the initiative aims to promote a sustainable, interoperable, and open research data ecosystem in Germany. As a coordinating hub, Base4NFDI connects disciplinary and institutional efforts, thereby improving coherence, efficiency, and innovation in RDM at the national level.
The initiative aims to promote a sustainable, interoperable, and open research data ecosystem in Germany by establishing and maintaining common infrastructures, standards, and interfaces. As a coordinating hub, Base4NFDI connects disciplinary and institutional efforts to improve coherence, efficiency, and innovation in research data management (RDM) at the national level.
Basic Services for the German Research Landscape
Through its activities, Base4NFDI provides targeted funding for developing and operating basic services. These services enable the practical implementation of the FAIR principles, ensuring that research data is discoverable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. The funded basic services include:
- IAM4NFDI, an identity and access management system that enables secure and consistent access to research data and services across consortia,
- PID4NFDI, a persistent identifier service that ensures that research data is uniquely referenced, reliably cited, and remains discoverable in the long term,
- Jupyter4NFDI, an interactive platform that enables researchers to retrieve, analyze, and exchange data in a FAIR-compliant manner and supports reproducible and transparent research workflows.
Funding these basic services creates the technical, organizational, and legal framework necessary to make research data discoverable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. These services also provide a sustainable infrastructure that extends beyond individual consortia and strengthens collaboration across the entire research landscape.
Working Together FAIR
Base4NFDI also applies the FAIR principles to its own development processes and results. All basic services are transparently documented, openly accessible, and designed in collaboration with specialist consortia. By using open standards, interoperable interfaces, and open-source technologies, Base4NFDI ensures that its services can be integrated across disciplines and institutions.
Base4NFDI thus plays a crucial role in connecting research communities, overcoming data silos, and establishing sustainable, FAIR-compliant research data practices in Germany. By pooling expertise, infrastructure, and governance, it creates the conditions for researchers in all disciplines to manage, share, and reuse their data in accordance with the FAIR principles—paving the way for a more open, tran
Reference to the Motto “FAIR Data – FAIR Play: It’s All a Question of Positioning”
The TdF’s motto emphasizes the importance of clear positioning for successful interaction, whether in sports or research data management. This is precisely where Base4NFDI comes in. Its basic services create a common infrastructure on which researchers, consortia, and institutions can build their FAIR practices.
IAM4NFDI establishes clear roles and secure access; PID4NFDI provides reliable identifiers; and Jupyter4NFDI ensures transparent, reproducible workflows. Together, these services form a well-coordinated team that optimizes the interaction of data, tools, and processes. Thus, FAIR play becomes more than a principle; it becomes a technically and organizationally supported way of interacting, independent of discipline or institution.
Thus, Base4NFDI demonstrates that FAIRness is not accidental, but rather the result of good positioning: coordinated, open, and future-oriented.
Additional Information
Meet Base4NFDI Service Stewards André Giesler and Lisa Schwier in person on November 18, 2025, at the IT Center of RWTH Aachen University and get first-hand information about the latest developments in basic services at NFDI.
Further information and links to afternoon events at other North Rhine-Westphalian locations can be found on the fdm.nrw events page.
If you have any questions about Research Data Day in North Rhine-Westphalia, please contact the organizing team. We look forward to hearing from you!
Responsible for the content of this article are Hania Eid and Lina-Louise Kaulbach.
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