Don't panic! A Survival Guide for Law and Ethics in Research another step towards "OneNFDI" through interconsortial trainings

Legal challenges are an inherent aspect of research and data management across diverse communities and consortia, including those focused on agriculture, biodiversity, and earth system sciences. With growing expectations for open science and cross-disciplinary data sharing, researchers must navigate complex regulatory frameworks, including land tenure, intellectual property rights, data privacy, and environmental regulations such as access to genetic resources and Digital Sequence Information that directly impact the implementation of research. Ensuring legal compliance while maintaining FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data practices and ensuring that the legal dimensions of sustainability are integrated into data governance efforts is crucial, but often overwhelming. To help researchers address these challenges effectively, the consortia FAIRagro, NFDI4Biodiversity and NFDI4Earth collaborated on the creation of a Legal Workshop Series, called the "Survival Guide for Law and Ethics in Research" [1]. This Series was established as a proactive initiative, bringing together legal experts, researchers, and stakeholders like data stewards. Through interactive and interdisciplinary sessions, these workshops provide practical guidance on key legal aspects of research data management. Topics include data protection issues, informed consent, licensing models, data ownership, and regulatory compliance, all framed within the broader goal of empowering researchers to make legal decisions competently and fearlessly. Building Legal Literacy Across NFDI Consortia As all research communities and consortia face unique legal challenges, the FAIRagro Legal Workshop Series contributes to broader efforts aimed at overcoming these hurdles. In particular, it complements efforts within the NFDI4Biodiversity, NFDI4Earth, and FAIRagro communities by highlighting legal frameworks for all three communities. By connecting these communities, the workshop series helps break down legal silos and promotes a shared understanding of best practices. This cross-consortial approach is an essential step towards a "OneNFDI" vision, where diverse research communities align their efforts to create a more unified and legally robust research data infrastructure. Through hands-on case studies and expert discussions, workshop participants collaborate on solutions that transcend disciplinary boundaries, ensuring that legal frameworks support interdisciplinary research rather than creating obstacles. Impact and Future Outlook This submission will highlight how the "Survival Guide for Law and Ethics in Research" [1] addresses legal challenges, providing a platform for knowledge exchange and a deeper understanding of how legal frameworks can support earth, environmental and agri sciences. Beyond merely addressing legal uncertainties, the Survival Guide empowers researchers to confidently navigate ethical and legal complexities in their daily work. Through these cross-consortia workshops, participants can discuss and develop strategies for addressing legal issues related to data sharing, sustainability, and policy integration. By bridging these domains, the workshops support the creation of a unified, accessible, and legally sound data infrastructure that empowers researchers to navigate the complexities of earth, environmental and agricultural data management in a sustainable and legally compliant manner. Looking ahead, future workshops will expand to tackle emerging challenges, such as AI-driven data processing, cross-border data transfers, and evolving EU regulations on digital data sovereignty. As research becomes more data-intensive and internationally connected, proactive legal literacy training is essential to ensure compliance while maximizing the potential of open science.