On 15 April 2024, OSTrails hosted its first public webinar, bringing together over 100 participants from across the research community. The session introduced the project’s goals, early results, and ways to get involved in shaping how research planning, tracking, and assessment can be improved.

"This firstwebinar was an important milestone for us. After months of work, we were finally able to share early results and open the door for others to get involved."
— Elli Papadopoulou, Athena Research Center / OSTrails Deputy Coordinator

Plan-Track-Assess (PTA) Framework: Addressing the Silos in Research Data Management

Research today relies on many separate systems. The same information is often re-entered in different tools, and outputs are difficult to follow or assess. OSTrails addresses these issues by connecting workflows, reducing duplication, and supporting reuse and visibility of research outputs.

The project builds a unified framework that:

• Assists researchers in reducing repetitive tasks and improving data management.
• Supports institutions in ensuring compliance and facilitating data reuse.
• Enables funders and policymakers to obtain consistent and reliable metrics on FAIR and Open Science practices.

Elli Papadopoulou presenting the OSTrails toolkit.

Two Pilots, One Message: This Works!

Two pilot initiatives were featured during the webinar to show what the PTA Framework looks like when in action for different organisations:

• In the Dutch National Pilot, led by CWTS and SURF, institutions are working with dynamic Data Management Plans (DMPs) embedded in their systems, cutting repetition and improving coordination across teams. The pilot highlights the Netherlands’ diverse and decentralised research data management (RDM) landscape, and the need for machine-actionable (ma)DMP tooling that meets both broad Open Science goals and basic local administrative needs. The pilot focuses on aligning stakeholder interests at national and institutional levels—supporting researchers with domain-specific templates and administrators with integrated workflows that include RDM, privacy, and ethics reviews. It also explores different technical pathways to publish and connect maDMPs with other research outputs, including the use of Research Activity Identifiers (RAiDs) and links to local repositories or Zenodo.

Andrew Hoffman (CWTS) showcasing the Dutch National Pilot.

• In Photon and Neutron Science, researchers at ESRF are combining DMPs, metadata services, and FAIR assessment tools to better describe and evaluate their datasets.

Assessing and sharing datasets from ESFRIs using the PTA Framework, as presented by Renaud Duyme.

Those are only two examples of the twenty-four use cases through which OSTrails is testing and adapting the PTA Framework to streamline and automate processes.

From Design to Adoption: Supporting the People Who Make It Happen

The webinar also launched the OSTrails Mentorship Programme, which provides support for those already working on improving research workflows by helping them apply OSTrails tools in practice: IT staff, research support professionals, and policy officers.

Insights into the OSTrails training roadmap by Pedro Principe (UMinho).

Community Discussions

The discussion during the webinar showed strong interest in the work OSTrails is doing. Participants highlighted shared challenges like scattered tools, manual processes, and inconsistent planning, and welcomed the focus on making systems work better together. The event opened space for future collaboration and real-world application.

There were also many questions about how to get involved, especially through the OSTrails Mentorship Programme. The team shared resources on training opportunities, the mentorship call for mentees, and other upcoming events. As one participant put it:

“This is a great initiative—thank you for this mentoring programme.”

Check out the full webinar here.

Over the pastsemester,OSTrailslaunched the first part of itsInteroperabilityWebinarSeriesspotlighting the development of Interoperability Frameworks (IFs) under theOSTrails Reference Architecture.

Key takeaways 

• Early access to FAIR-IF, DMP-IF, and SKG-IF specifications to prepare tools and workflows for integration.

• Practical examples of embedding frameworks into widely used platforms for EOSC alignment.

• Networking with EOSC, RDA, and related initiatives to align with interoperability standards.

• Exchange of insights on APIs, benchmarks, and extension mechanisms for real-world application.

• Direct input into framework development through use cases and feedback.

Nearly300 participantsjoined the sessionsonthe Assessment-IF (previously FAIR‑IF), theData Management PlanIF(DMP-IF), and theScientific Knowledge Graphs IF (SKG-IF),representing a diverse mix of data stewards, librarians, repository managers, software developers, researchers, and open science coordinators from universities, research infrastructures, and internationalorganisations.They cameto learn how these efforts are enabling seamless collaboration and information exchange across researchdata management (RDM)tools andcommunities.

Mainmessage.

In the context of the Open Science agenda, interoperability of research practices, tools, and infrastructures is no longer optional. It is essential for research to function at a scale across domains and communities. Achieving this, however, requires more than technical fixes — it demandsalignment,shared standards, andcollective effort.

OSTrails is working with the community toalign practices, clarify responsibilities, and define common interfaces between tools and services. The immediate goal is technical compatibility, ultimately supporting a research ecosystem where infrastructures caninteract by design, policies are easier to implement, and knowledge flows more openly across systems.

Session Highlights

Assessments IF (previously FAIR-IF):Mark Wilkinson (UPM), WP3 lead (Assessment tools & services), introduced the Assessment-IF, developed to address the lack of harmonisation across assessment tools and the inconsistent interpretation of FAIR principles. The framework supports interoperability and is designed to be embedded in DMP platforms to provide real-time, standardised feedback.

Components of the FAIR Assessment landscape, as presented during the webinar.

“We want to design and publish metrics and tests for a wider range of digital objects beyond data andincluding domain specific assessments.”

- Mark Wilkinson

In the discussion, participants showed strong interest in the upcoming API specifications that will enable tools to interact and harmonise outputs, as well as in approaches for describing algorithms as community judgments over benchmarks. There was also significant engagement around governance models involving diverse stakeholders — including domain experts, coders, and FAIR specialists — in the validation of metrics and tests.

DMP-IF:Marek Suchánek (CTU), WP2 (Plan-Track-Assess Alignment Implementation) lead, presented DMP-IF as a solution to fragmentation and lack of machine-actionability in current data management plans. Building on the RDA DMP Common Standard, the framework adds an application profile and a common API. This enables platforms to integrate with FAIR assessment tools, repositories, and SKGs in a uniform way while adapting the standard to European research needs. In doing so, it supports policy compliance and accommodates diverse research outputs.Insights on DMP-IF presentation.

“We are building on top of the DMP Common Standard from RDA by creating an application profile and API specification for DMP platforms, enabling interoperability, extensibility, and alignment with real-world needs such as policy compliance and support for diverse research outputs.”

- Marek Suchánek

During the discussion, participants highlighted how the framework can connect data repositories and DMP platforms in both directions — either fetching DMPs or pushing updates, such as dataset publication events, via the planned API. They emphasised its tool-agnostic design and its potential to reduce duplication through automation, ensure policy compliance, and support diverse outputs, including software management plans. Questions also covered reusing example DMPs, integrating with OSTrails DMP platforms and ensuring compatibility across systems.

SKG-IF:Andrea Mannocci (CNR), co-chair of theSKG-IF RDA WG, introduced the framework and its role in enabling cross-disciplinary research through semantic and technical interoperability. Building on the RDA model, SKG-IF provides a common data model, API specifications, and an extension mechanism to align and integrate knowledge graphs across systems, addressing the fragmentation caused by isolated, non-aligned graphs.

Overview of OSTrails contribution to the SKG-IF core model.

“The SKG-IFisn’t magic.There’s no central implementation or governing body thatoperates a service or infrastructure to enable dialogue between different SKGs. That might sound reductive,but in essence, SKG-IF is a set of guidelines. Anyone who wants their SKG to be interoperable with others and compliant with SKG-IF must follow these guidelines.”

- AndreaMannocci

In the discussion, participants explored how communities — both established and emerging — can contribute requirements to SKG-IF extensions, either through the RDA Working Group or dedicated extension projects. Questions focused on the level of technical expertise needed to develop extensions and the importance of practical guidance and real-world examples. Interest also centred on keeping the extension process accessible to non-experts, providing templates, and maintaining strong links between community-driven extensions and the core model.

Why was it important for OSTrails? 

The webinar series provided OSTrails with a high-impact opportunity to present its core technical developments and engage with the research community and EOSC landscape. The events helped validate the project’s direction, and practical feedback surfaced for several topics, ranging from inconsistencies in FAIR metrics to technical needs for DMP platform integration and SKG alignment. These insights are now shaping the ongoing refinement of each of the three frameworks to better support real-world use cases.

Why was it important for theResearch Community ingeneral?

The series enabled the research community to engage directly with the emerging frameworks and provide input early in their development. It also fostered alignment with ongoing international and EOSC-related initiatives, such as theRDA DMP Common StandardandSKG-IF Working GroupandFAIR Metrics and Digital Objects Task Force, and complementary projects likeFAIRCORE4EOSC andFAIR-IMPACT. These connections ensure that OSTrails developments build on widely adopted standards, support machine-actionable outputs, enable integration with established platforms, and address shared priorities such as policy compliance, persistent identifiers, and cross-platform interoperability.

Conclusions

The OSTrails webinars highlighted a shared need across the research landscape for more aligned, automated, and interoperable infrastructures. Each framework is helping to bridge gaps, whether in FAIR evaluation, data management automation, or SKG integration, and their development is being guided by community input. As they evolve, the IFs are poised to support a more open, trustworthy, and connected research ecosystem.

FurtherResources

Explore the full webinar series and access resources (recordings and slides)here.

Discover the documentation for the OSTrails Interoperability Architecture and its three Interoperability Frameworkshere.

On12 June,theOSTrails Horizon Europe projectlaunched the first in its series ofmaDMP Evaluation Webinars,aiming to improve data management practices through the adoption ofmachine-actionable Data Management Plans (maDMPs).Attended bymore than 80 participants,thefirst webinar focused oninviting fundersto explore new potentials, discuss evaluation challenges, and directly shape the OSTrailsmaDMP Evaluation Framework.

Key Takeaways 

• Funders want practical tools that help evaluate DMPs based on clarity, feasibility, and policy alignment, not just completeness.

• Machine-actionable DMPs are powerful, but they must be designed and evaluated with care. Undoubtedly because theymake it easier to link planning with implementation, reuse, and assessment.

• The evaluation framework fills a gap by translating high-level guidance (e.g. Science Europe) into structured, testable dimensions.This can help align DMPs with funder goals and research needs.

• Community feedback is essential to ensure the framework supports real workflows and diverse policy contexts. Rather than enforcing universal openness, Open Science infrastructures should support pluralistic and ethical openness that is tailored to different contexts.

• There is a strong interest inusing the evaluation service dimensions once it moves beyond beta.

The central message was that DMPs should no longer be treated as static documents but rather as active and shared components of research workflows.

The session wasled by the OSTrails Horizon Europe pilot, which has been working with funders and research communities to redesign how DMPs are created, reviewed, and assessed. It introduced the three core areas of OSTrails’ work with DMPs:

1. Conceptual: Defining the structure, content, and principles of DMPs, including the evaluation framework and the underlying policy and community requirements. 
2. Technical: Developing the specifications, standards, and interoperability mechanisms that enable DMPs to be machine-actionable and integrated with other research services. 
3. Operational:Implementing and testing DMP concepts and technical solutions through platforms, pilots, and real-world use cases, ensuring they work in practice and can be adopted by different stakeholders. 

As a concrete example, the pilot presented a proposedtwo-layer Horizon Europe DMP model separating declarative content (e.g. intent, policy) from implementation details (e.g. storage, preservation, access), to better support assessment and improve clarity of roles and responsibilities.

Building on this foundation, participants were introduced to thedraft DMP Evaluation Framework, designed to support semi-automated assessments that are flexible enough to adapt to different funder templates and emerging needs. The framework consists of dimensions and metrics that go beyond completeness to address aspects like feasibility and clarity of data practices. This represents a significant shift towards tracking the implementation of data practices over time, rather than merely recording intentions. For OSTrails, this work is fundamental.

The webinar also featured a collaboration with theTIER2 project, which focuses on enhancing the reproducibility aspects available in DMPs. Together, we shared community insights and demonstrated the importance of engaging with stakeholders early on and often.

The session invited funders to contribute feedback through a short survey, reinforcing the participatory ethos that underpins the OSTrails approach. Moreover, it demonstrated that the OSTrails approach (combining machine-actionable formats, shared APIs, and layered planning) is technically feasible andready to be integrated into funder workflows and DMP platforms. This confirmation is essential as OSTrails prepares for broader adoption across EOSC-related infrastructures used in its 24 pilots.

Participating research funders found the session highly relevant and timely. Many expressed strong interest in the evaluation approach and welcomed the opportunity to shape its development. There was clear demand for theDMP evaluation service, with several attendees noting they were eager to use it once it moves frombeta to full production.

As OSTrails continues its work, this webinar series will provide an ongoing opportunity to include more voices in the conversation, including not only funders, but alsoresearchers, institutions and community organisations.

We thank all attendees and invite continued engagement through upcoming sessions and surveys!