FAIR-Compliant Metadata Management and Discovery Service
Overview
The service enables partners to register and maintain dataset metadata in a structured catalog so that datasets are findable, described with rich metadata, and indexed in a searchable resource, consistent with FAIR expectations. It supports controlled access patterns (e.g., authentication/authorization) where needed and preserves metadata access even if the underlying data are withdrawn or no longer accessible, aligned with FAIR accessibility principles. For the secondary use of potentially personal or sensitive data, the service enforces purpose clarity and controlled re-use, stating the original and intended purpose in metadata and ensuring any new use is compatible with the original purpose. The service is implemented with a FAIR Data Point metadata API that exposes machine-actionable metadata via REST, using RDF (e.g., Turtle/JSON-LD) as the common representation and SHACL shapes for metadata schemas and validation. For catalog interoperability, CKAN with the DCAT extension publishes/consumes DCAT RDF and supports harvesting from other catalogs, enabling federated discovery across partner catalogs. FDP and CKAN extend Eclipse EDC with a FAIR-oriented discovery and catalog layer on top of EDC's policy-controlled data exchange.
Outcome
A federated metadata ecosystem where datasets and data products are consistently described with rich, machine-actionable FAIR metadata, published through FAIR Data Point interfaces and discoverable via CKAN portals that can expose/consume DCAT/RDF and harvest from multiple catalogs. Users can reliably search and understand available data, while access remains controlled for sensitive data because only metadata is broadly discoverable and actual data access can be gated by defined policies and authorisation processes.
Service Card
| Category | Infrastructure and data-related services |
| Domain | Data Infrastructure, Metadata Management, FAIR Data |
| Vertical | Cross-domain |
| Target users | Research Institutions, SMEs, Public Sector Organizations, Data Scientists, AI/ML Researchers |
| Service type | Data Infrastructure Service, Metadata Management Service |
| Outputs | Searchable FAIR-compliant metadata catalog with machine-actionable dataset descriptions, FAIR Data Point interfaces, and federated CKAN discovery portals. |
| Requirements | |
| Limitations | |
| Availability | Q1/2027 |
| Licensing | |
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