STICHTING GO FAIR

Their core work

GO FAIR Foundation is an international initiative, legally based in the Netherlands, that drives the adoption of FAIR data principles — making scientific data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable — across research communities worldwide. In H2020, they contributed to the governance architecture of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), working on coordination structures and implementation roadmaps at the policy and institutional level. They also participated in EOSC-Nordic, where the focus shifted toward practical service delivery: data repositories, service management, and regional FAIR infrastructure. Their value in any consortium is as a specialized advocate and governance expert for open research data, not as a technical builder.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Both H2020 projects began in 2019, so temporal evolution is compressed — but the keyword shift between them is meaningful. In EOSCsecretariat.eu, their contribution centered on EOSC governance, coordination structures, and implementation roadmaps: policy-level, institution-building work. In EOSC-Nordic, the language moved toward services, service management, data infrastructure, and repositories — a shift from shaping the architecture to populating it with operational substance. The trend suggests GO FAIR is maturing from a policy advocate into an organization engaged with practical infrastructure delivery, while retaining its FAIR principles identity as the throughline.

GO FAIR is moving from governance and policy influence toward hands-on participation in operational research data infrastructure, making them increasingly relevant for consortia building FAIR-compliant data services rather than just policy frameworks.

How they like to work

GO FAIR has participated exclusively as a consortium partner — never as coordinator — across both H2020 projects. They bring recognized thematic authority (FAIR principles) to large, multi-country consortia rather than leading project execution. With 41 unique partners across 16 countries from just two projects, they operate comfortably in broad, international consortia, which reflects their role as a convening and standard-setting entity rather than a technical delivery house.

GO FAIR has built connections with 41 distinct organizations across 16 countries through only two projects — an unusually wide network for such a small participation footprint, reflecting their role as a convening body in the European open science ecosystem. Their network is strongly European, with a notable Nordic-Baltic reach through EOSC-Nordic.

What sets them apart

GO FAIR Foundation occupies a rare position: they are the institutional steward of the FAIR data principles in Europe, giving them credibility and name recognition that no technical contractor can replicate. For any consortium that needs to demonstrate genuine FAIR compliance — not just checkbox adherence — having GO FAIR as a partner signals seriousness to reviewers and funders. They are one of the few organizations whose value is primarily reputational and normative rather than technical or financial.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EOSCsecretariat.eu
  Positioned GO FAIR at the heart of EOSC governance design, giving them direct influence over the coordination architecture of Europe's flagship open science infrastructure.
• EOSC-Nordic
  Largest single grant received (EUR 205,000) and demonstrated GO FAIR's ability to contribute to operational, service-level FAIR infrastructure beyond pure policy work.