Achieving low barriers to entry in the FAIR Digital Objects (FDO) data space: a Use Case in Biodiversity Extended Specimen Networks

Abstract

For a network of FAIR digital objects (a “data space”) to be fully realized at a global scale, its architecture must possess low barriers to entry to newcomer data providers. Barriers to entry is a measure of the up-front resource demands (costs) required to enter into a line of business or participate in a multi-organizational endeavor. The biodiversity community’s notion of Extended Specimen is a good match as a FAIR Digital Objects (FDO) data space. Extended Specimen is the interconnecting of physical specimen with all manner of derived and/or related data reflecting new sources of data and information related to collected specimens. We look at two possible manifestations of FAIR digital object data space for the global biodiversity community: the DiSSCo project in Europe and an early evaluation being undertaken in the US. Application of the lense of barriers to entry in this context strongly suggests that the FAIR Digital Object data space adopt a policy of flexibility with respect to the requirements it imposes for newcomers.