NIAID Blueprint

A Blueprint for Including Digital Objects in the NIAID Data Ecosystem

About the Blueprint

GO FAIR US (GFU) was awarded a fully funded research subcontract in 2023 to conduct data landscaping work on behalf of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID). The work is performed in collaboration with the GO FAIR Foundation, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the Ronin Institute, and other partner consultants and is sponsored by the NIAID Office of Data Science and Emerging Technologies (ODSET). The Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, operated by Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., is funding the project on behalf of NIAID.

The NIAID Data Landscaping and FAIRification project seeks to increase utilization and enhance the quality of metadata within NIAID and NIH supported repositories and data resources using the Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) Principles as a guide. The project supports NIAID’s mission to better understand, treat, and prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases and seeks to assist researchers in producing scientifically impactful research using NIAID resources through secondary research or via reuse of existing data. The project team will provide guidance on approaches and ensure that NIAID’s integrated ecosystem of data, tools, and services are FAIR enabled. Structured training and guidance will be offered to support stakeholders, including components from the model pioneered by GO FAIR leveraging established metadata for machines (M4M) workshops and adopting FAIR Implementation Profiles (FIPs).

From FAIR to Blueprint

GFU utilized a two-phase approach to the FAIRification project. Phase I occurred from October 2024 - August 2025 and focused on FAIRification strategies and methods to enhance impact of scientific research. Using the FAIR principles as a guide, the project team analyzed the purposes, needs, and capabilities of 11 key NIAID repositories (see Table 1), and created FIPs for each.

The approach was iterative, beginning with desk-based research, and surveys, seeking to build detailed Work Plans with practicable strategies for repositories to improve their FAIRness (Hoebelheinrich et al., 2026). We also began with an assessment of off-the-shelf tools for quantifying the FAIRness of repositories but ultimately turned to more community-centric practices (Hoebelheinrich et al., 2025).

In creating Phase I Work Plans, GFU and ODSET pivoted from producing repository-specific FAIR assessments to producing a list of NIAID repository recommendations. The result was A Blueprint for Including Digital Objects in the NIAID Data Ecosystem or “the Blueprint”. Phase II was launched in September of 2025, is projected to be completed in May 2026, and focuses on Blueprint training, outreach and stakeholder alignment, and publications.

GFU is currently developing a generic version of the NIAID Blueprint for the wider research data ecosystem. The intent is for FAIR guidance that encompasses repositories outside of NIAID to expand the outreach of FAIR principles.

Table 1. Phase I’s 11 target repositories

Division/ Office	Resource	Description
OCICB	AccessClinicalData @NIAID (ACDN)	Clinical trials data, including COVID-19 and other sponsored clinical trials data, with recent focuses on longitudinal immune responses and adaptive treatment to COVID-19
	TB Portal	Genomics, clinical data, imaging information from tuberculosis (TB) patient cases, focus on advancement of TB research for public health
DAIT	IEDB	Immunology, experimental data on antibody and T cell epitopes with a focus on autoimmunity, infectious disease, allergy, and transplantation
	ImmPort	Bioinformatics for immunology, with a focus on data discoveries from research organizations and scientists
	ImmuneSpace	Provides access to data generated by Human Immunology Project Consortium centers
	ITN Trialshare	Clinical science and immunology, with a focus on the advancement of immune tolerance therapies and biomarker development
DAIDS	ACTG	Global clinical trials network to improve the management of HIV and its comorbidities; develop a cure for HIV; and innovate treatments for tuberculosis, hepatitis B, and emerging infectious diseases.
	MACS WHIS Combined Cohort Study (MWCCS)	Basic science, clinical science, and epidemiology of HIV infection in the U.S., with a focus on comorbidities among those living with HIV
DMID	Bioinformatic Resource Centers (BRCs)	Bioinformatics resource centers including bacterial and viral infectious diseases, assisting researchers with analyzing genome sequences

International Data Week

In October 2025, GFU attended International Data Week (IDW) 2025, held in Brisbane, Australia for a week of conferences on international data. International Data Week (IDW) is a landmark event organised by the Committee on Data (CODATA) and the World Data System (WDS) of the International Science Council (ISC), and the Research Data Alliance (RDA) that takes place every two years. The theme of IDW 2025 was Data for Positive Change: empowering communities and advancing research and it was at the conference that the A Blueprint for Including Digital Objects in the NIAID Data Ecosystem made its debut to the international community (Meyer et al., 2025).

Around the same time that the Blueprint was introduced, ODSET published Infectious, Allergic, and Immune-Mediated Disease Data Resources: a Landscape Overview and Subset Assessment which includes a list of recommendations for choosing appropriate data resources to include in a Data Management and Sharing (DMS) plan for infectious, allergic, and immune-mediated Disease (IID). DMS plans are a part of grant applications and details data type(s), data sharing resources, and a distribution timeline.