Monday 11 May 2026
BioFAIR is pleased to announce the launch of the first stage of its Monitoring and Evaluation project, a major step in understanding the progress of the project to date and strengthening BioFAIR’s role as the UK’s national infrastructure for FAIR and reusable life science data.
As BioFAIR approaches its second anniversary, this is an important moment to reflect on what has been achieved since the programme began and to look ahead to the next phase of delivery.
A key focus will be to establish a benchmark of FAIR adoption across the UK life sciences community. This baseline will help BioFAIR understand current practices, identify barriers to making data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable, and track future progress. Over time, this will provide important evidence of BioFAIR’s contribution to enabling researchers across multiple life science disciplines to make their data more FAIR, reusable and ready for wider use, including by emerging AI-enabled research approaches.
The project will also explore the effectiveness of BioFAIR’s early delivery and governance arrangements, helping to ensure that the programme is well positioned to support a federated, interoperable and community-led data ecosystem for UK life sciences.
The work will be undertaken by external consultants, Research Consulting, who will work closely with the BioFAIR team, partners and stakeholders. Their findings will help inform BioFAIR’s future priorities, strengthen accountability, and ensure that the infrastructure continues to develop in response to community needs. Research Consulting will be supported by DataSeer.
“BioFAIR was created to support a step change in how UK researchers manage, share and reuse life science data. As we approach the end of our second year, this Monitoring and Evaluation project gives us a timely opportunity to take stock of our progress, listen carefully to our stakeholders, and establish a clear benchmark for FAIR adoption across the community. The insights we gather now will help us understand where BioFAIR is already making a difference and where we need to focus next to deliver the greatest value for UK research.”
– Tony Burdett, BioFAIR Director
“It is a privilege to be working with BioFAIR on this project. The strength of any national infrastructure lies in its responsiveness to the communities it serves, and we look forward to engaging with researchers, data stewards and other partners across the UK life sciences to capture the perspectives and evidence that will help shape BioFAIR’s next phase of development.”
– Andrea Chiarelli, Associate Director, Research Consulting
Stakeholder participation will be central to the success of the project, and representatives of the research community will be invited to share their experiences of FAIR data practice, their interactions with BioFAIR, and their views on the support, tools and coordination needed to accelerate progress.
BioFAIR gratefully acknowledges the support of UK Research and Innovation, whose funding makes this work possible. This investment is enabling BioFAIR to take a rigorous, evidence-based approach to building national capability for FAIR data and to demonstrating the value of that capability for UK research.
Further details on opportunities to contribute to the Monitoring and Evaluation project will be shared shortly. To follow BioFAIR’s progress and learn more about our mission, visit biofair.uk and follow BioFAIR on LinkedIn and BlueSky.