BioFAIR A BioCommons infrastructure for UK life science researchers

We are excited to share the funding announcement from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) including £34 million for the creation of BioFAIR.

BioFAIR was conceived by ELIXIR-UK and is a new digital research infrastructure that enables the data and processing resources of ELIXIR and other partners to be delivered to researchers across the UK. A national BioCommons will maximise the Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, Reusability (FAIR) and Reproducibility of life science data and data workflows.

“Biology is increasingly becoming a data-driven science. Life scientists generate large and complex data sets, which have huge potential to transform our understanding of life on Earth - but only if we can make sense of all the data.

“This new investment demonstrates the UK’s commitment to open and reproducible research and this will ensure that we can realise the enormous potential of life science data.

“Not only will BioFAIR empower researchers by providing the resources they need for better data management and analyses, but it will also ensure data is preserved beyond the lifespan of an individual research project so the most value can be extracted from it.”

Professor Neil Hall, Director of the Earlham Institute, Joint Head of Node of ELIXIR-UK

This need for BioFAIR is supported by the outcomes of a Feasibility Study commissioned to ELIXIR-UK by UKRI-BBSRC, UKRI-MRC and Wellcome Trust, and carried out with Technopolis Group.

“BioFAIR will enable all UK researchers to benefit from the extensive range of world-leading data management and analysis infrastructure developed in the UK and with our international colleagues

“By sharing how we both collect, manage and access data and develop analysis pipelines, we will support UK data stewards and research software engineers and enable UK researchers to accelerate their discoveries.”

Professor Carole Goble, The University of Manchester and Joint Head of Node of ELIXIR-UK

Establishment of BioFAIR is funded by UKRI for the next 5 years (subject to business case approvals).

This post is syndicated from ELIXIR-UK’s news item