FAIRness of published data in life sciences, and opportunities to improve

This document represents a deliverable from ELIXIR’s 2024-28 Programme. It has been developed as part of the ELIXIR Data Platform in Work Package 4 on Scalable Curation. It was drafted by the Work Package members, with support from the ELIXIR Hub, and with input and feedback from ELIXIR members. This report examines each FAIR principle (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) in relation to the "long tail of data" in the life sciences, focusing on both published data and annotated publications. It highlights challenges in data sharing, persistent identifiers, metadata standards, and reuse practices. The report provides recommendations for funders, institutions, publishers, authors, curators and repositories to advance FAIR practices.