Objectives

The aim of WP5 and WP6 is to enhance the overall scientific value and reliability of the EIRENE RI by establishing strategies and frameworks that guide data governance. This will include a comprehensive data framework as the foundation for data management and utilization. The ELSI compliance framework will be developed to ensure responsible research practices and compliance with relevant regulations. Implementation of the FAIR principles will be ensured by developing a community-based approach to identify the core FAIR Enabling Resources of relevance for the EIRENE research community. Finally, a strategy to identify core datasets and establish associated quality levels will be developed.

Tasks (months 19-36)

T6.1 Data governance framework (Task leader: CNR, partners VITO)
Incorporating lessons learned from previous and ongoing EU initiatives (e.g., HBM4EU, PARC, IHEN, EHEN cluster projects) and based on the feedback from BGR and experiences of the other RIs (e.g. BBMRI, ELIXIR) we will integrate domain-specific standards for data curation, provenance, and long-term preservation into the Interim Data Governance Strategy. Special attention will be given to multidisciplinary data harmonization and the governance of (meta-)data models across environmental, exposure science and disease/health domains. A Data governance framework (D6.1, M36, CNR) that supports both technical and ethical requirements of the EIRENE RI will be developed, all partners will contribute to consider national strategies and specific character of data/labs etc.

T6.2 Legal and ethical compliance framework (Task leader: MU, partners UU-IRAS, JSI, VITO)
Connection to existing ELSI helpdesks across ESFRIs will prevent duplication of efforts while ensuring that EIRENE RI benefits from the collective knowledge base of the RI ecosystem. A dedicated helpdesk (D6.2, M36, MU/UU) within EIRENE RI will be established specifically to address gaps in the environment and health domain, providing specialized support for researchers navigating the unique challenges associated with environmental health data. In close collaboration with Task 4.3, the ethical safeguards will be systematically embedded into user access protocols and data infrastructure architecture. By linking with the management WP, coherence across EIRENE IMP will be guaranteed.

T6.3 FAIR implementation (Task leader: VITO, partners UU-IRAS, CNR)
In EIRENE, the FAIR principles must be implemented while respecting the requirements of different research communities. A community-based Approach to identify core FAIR Enabling Resources (D6.3, M36, VITO) will be described, allowing the research community to identify, evaluate, and curate the resources (e.g. vocabularies, ontologies, knowledge models…) most relevant to enable FAIR data in exposome research. The approach will incorporate feedback mechanisms, quality assessment protocols, and other control processes to ensure that only robust and widely accepted resources will be promoted as core resources. This initiative will support the adoption of these core resources as part of the EIRENE RI.

T6.4 Data harmonization and quality (Task leader: UU-IRAS, partners VITO)
Core data resources will be identified based on criteria such as scientific focus and quality of science, the community served by the resource, quality of service, legal and funding infrastructure and governance, and impact and translational stories. The process and criteria for identification of core data resources (D6.4, M36, UU-IRAS) will be developed based on the input from the research communities.