FAIR4Instruments workshop

Why Instruments Matter in Open Research Information

Scientific instruments—whether custom-built by researchers, purchased commercially, or integrated into complex laboratory workflows—sit at the heart of countless research processes. They may operate independently, as part of a facility-wide pipeline, or as nodes in large, distributed sensor networks. Understanding what the instrument is, where it is located, how it is configured, and how it was used can be critical for interpreting the data it produces.

The ability to reproduce a scientific result or confidently reuse existing datasets often depends on access to accurate, standardized information about the instrument itself. Yet practices for managing and sharing this information remain inconsistent across institutions and research communities.

About the FAIR4Instruments Workshop

The FAIR4Instruments workshop brings together key stakeholders to investigate how information about instruments is currently captured, curated, and disseminated—and how these practices impact the FAIRness, reusability, and reliability of research data.

Participants will explore questions such as:

• How is instrument metadata currently managed within labs, facilities, and institutions?
• Where are the gaps in documentation, stewardship, and accessibility?
• How can persistent identifiers, controlled vocabularies, and metadata standards support FAIR instrument information?
• What does a shared national approach to FAIR instrument registration look like?

By convening instrument providers, facility managers, researchers, and experts in PIDs and research infrastructure, the workshop aims to build a shared understanding of both challenges and opportunities, and to spark new collaborations that can strengthen the Open Research Information ecosystem in the Netherlands.

Connecting Theory and Practice

The workshop will highlight emerging best practices for instrument registration, present real-world use cases from across the Dutch NES domain, and feature insights from international initiatives working on persistent identifiers and research equipment metadata.

Together, participants will:

• Map current practices and identify gaps
• Explore pathways for coordinated, cross-institutional solutions
• Discuss the role of instrument metadata in FAIR data workflows
• Envision a sustainable approach to instrument stewardship and recognition

This hands-on, collaborative setting is designed to generate actionable steps toward making instruments—and the information about them—FAIR by design.

About the Organizers

FAIR4Instruments is organized by the Thematic Digital Competence Centre for Natural and Engineering Sciences (TDCC-NES) in collaboration with Dutch universities, SURF, and DANS. Through shared expertise and cooperation, the workshop seeks to catalyze a community committed to advancing FAIR instrument metadata and strengthening the foundations of Open Research Information.

Organizing Committee

• Joost Bengsch (TU Delft)
• Marlon Domingus (Erasmus University Rotterdam / Erasmus MC)
• Wim Hugo (DANS)
• Sara Ramezani (SURF)
• Natascha van Lieshout (SURF)
• Maurice Vanderfeesten (SURF / VU Amsterdam)
• Lena Karvovskaya (TDCC-NES)