FIDELIS invites provisional members of the FIDELIS Network to the pilot round of the Support for the Adoption of Solutions. This type of support will be offered throughout the FIDELIS project to support repositories to implement and adopt good practices, tools, services, and other solutions to increase their trustworthiness. Before our first open call launches in 2026, we are organising a pilot round exclusively for the provisional members of the FIDELIS Network. This pilot round helps us prepare and develop the necessary logistics, materials, and processes for this type of support. Aside from receiving our support, you will be able to share your feedback with us and help shape the upcoming open calls to make them as effective as possible.
The pilot round includes three different support offers you can register for: Enhancing Repository Transparency and Trustworthiness with TTRAM, an Explorer track & Pathfinder track for CoreTrustSeal support, and the opportunity to Develop your own FAIR EVA (Evaluator, Validator & Advisor) plugin.
Consider the support offer descriptions below to decide which support offer(s) you would like to register for. Registration will open on September 12th and close on September 26th. For this pilot round, registration will occur on a first-come-first-served basis. For all information about the support and its logistics, please consult the Frequently Asked Questions.
Please note: some minor details may still change or update between August 29th and September 12th. When registration opens, all information will be finalised.
Support offer #1 - Enhancing Repository Transparency and Trustworthiness with TTRAM
The TTRAM (Transparent Trustworthy Repository Attributes Matrix) is a flexible, evolving tool to support mutual understanding and alignment within and beyond the FIDELIS Network. Developed as part of the FIDELIS project, TTRAM helps to better understand digital repositories and how transparency of their activities contributes to trustworthiness. This support offer highlights the benefits TTRAM brings organisations, particularly in assisting Trusted Digital Repositories (TDRs) with managing digital objects, strengthening organisational infrastructure, and technology and security management.
During the workshops, participants will have the opportunity to engage directly with the TTRAM developers and other participating organisations, fostering dialogue and collaboration. A contact opportunity is provided between workshops too. The approach encourages active participation in building professional understanding of TTRAM and its benefits. The outcomes of the training will be helpful for digital repositories because a deeper understanding of TTRAM enables coherent and reusable information collection, offers understanding of different repository types and curation practices, and facilitates structured, easily shareable information for further use. It also supports the creation of a functional network of mutual support and aligned practices among repositories. Furthermore, the training will broaden the understanding on how to deploy, populate and expand TTRAM, enhancing an organisation’s capacity as a TDR. It will also help to recognise strengths or areas for improvement.
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| TTRAM relation | TTRAM in general (Workshops 1 and 4). Self-selected sections (Workshops 2 and 3) |
| Maximum number of participants (individuals and/or teams) | Up to 10 individuals or teams will be supported. |
| Who should apply? | Representatives from organisations interested in creating structured and easily shareable information of their organisational infrastructure, digital object management and technology services. |
| Skills needed to participate | No specific level of maturity or particular characteristics are required from participants other than good understanding of their repository’s processes and practices. |
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| Duration & expected effort | The support offer will take place from October 6 to November 19, 2025. We anticipate that successful applicants will need to allocate 2 days to undertake this support offer. These days will be spent on participation in 4 workshops and the necessary pre-support preparation and post-support evaluation. The pilot support will include more extensive evaluation and feedback to help us shape the future open calls. |
| Who will be involved in providing the support? | Experts: Hervé L’Hours (UKDS, co-creator of the TTRAM) Mari Kleemola (FSD, TTRAM work package lead) And other TTRAM work package members. Support facilitator: Henna Kaartinen (FSD) |
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Support offer #2 - CoreTrustSeal support: Explorer track & Pathfinder track
CoreTrustSeal offers a core level certification based on the Core Trustworthy Data Repositories Requirements, which outline the essential characteristics of trustworthy data repositories. This support offer provides participants with an opportunity to explore the CoreTrustSeal requirements and assess their relevance and benefits for their own organisation.
On the Explorer track, you will examine whether your repository falls within the scope of the CoreTrustSeal certification. This track is suitable for organisations interested in applying to CoreTrustSeal in the future or performing a self-evaluation without certification. After the completion of the training, you will know how the certification process works and are confident how to best prepare for the self-evaluation.
On the Pathfinder track, you will receive expert feedback on your self-assessment. This track is designed for organisations that are already working on their self-assessment or are otherwise ready to begin the process. The support offer includes one-on-one sessions with CoreTrustSeal specialists, who will provide targeted feedback on selected sections of your self-assessment. After the completion of the training, you will be a couple of steps closer to completing your assessment and more confident in your understanding of what reviewers look for when evaluating your application. To join this track, you must have a solid draft in place at minimum for Requirements R0, R8, R9, and R13 by the time the training begins.
| Details | |
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| TTRAM relation | Criteria, Assessment, Improvement |
| Maximum number of participants (individuals and/or teams) | Up to 15 individuals or teams will be supported through the Explorer track. Up to 6 individuals or teams will be supported through the Pathfinder track. |
| Who should apply? | Repositories planning to apply for CoreTrustSeal or carry out a self-assessment using the CoreTrustSeal requirements. Ideally, the lead participant should be able to engage with various organisational units to coordinate information collection during the support initiative and a potential CoreTrustSeal application. |
| Skills needed to participate | Explorer track: No specific level of knowledge required from the participants.
Pathfinder track: A clear understanding that your repository falls within the scope of CoreTrustSeal certification, and a solid draft in place at minimum for Requirements R0, R8, R9, and R13 by the time the training begins. |
| Contact points | Beginner track
Advanced track
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| Duration & expected effort | The support offer will take place from September 30th to the end of November 2025. We anticipate that successful applicants will need to allocate 2 days to undertake this support offer on the Explorer track and up to 4 days on the Pathfinder track. This effort will be spent on participation in 4 workshops and the necessary pre-support preparation and post-support evaluation. The pilot support will include more extensive evaluation and feedback to help us shape the future open calls. |
| Who will be involved in providing the support? | Experts: Tuomas J. Alaterä (FSD, member of the CoreTrustSeal Board) Maaike Verburg (DANS, member and treasurer of the CoreTrustSeal Board) Jonas Recker (GESIS, former member and chair of the CoreTrustSeal Board) Support facilitator: Milica Ševkušić (University of Belgrade) |
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Support offer #3 - Develop your own FAIR EVA (Evaluator, Validator & Advisor) plugin
This series combines webinars and hands-on workshops specifically designed for repository managers and administrators, as well as technical staff and data stewards. The aim is for participants to become familiar with the FAIR EVA (Evaluator, Validator and Advisor) tool, understanding how it works and its potential for assessing the level of compliance with the FAIR principles. FAIR EVA is oriented to evaluate and validate the FAIRness level of digital objects from repositories or data portals, while advising data producers on how they can improve the data and metadata.
Throughout the sessions, the potential of FAIR EVA will be presented — from its basic use for quick diagnostics to advanced configurations and the development of custom plugins. Advanced configurations allow selecting which information fields and metadata to evaluate in order to determine the FAIRness level, while plugin development provides maximum flexibility to obtain all the necessary information for the evaluation. In addition, feedback messages are configurable to guide users and data producers, helping to improve the quality of digital objects. The sessions will demonstrate how these capabilities can be integrated into repository workflows to:
- Systematically assess the FAIRness level of digital objects and their metadata.
- Generate reports and metrics useful for continuous improvement.
- Provide clear and actionable feedback to data producers and depositors.
- Tailor the evaluation to the community’s standards and practices or to the repository’s thematic domain.
The webinars will provide the conceptual framework, use cases, and demonstrations. The hands-on workshops will guide participants step-by-step through the installation, configuration, and customization of FAIR EVA, as well as the development of their own plugins, ensuring they acquire the skills needed to apply it in their own context.
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| TTRAM relation | Curation, Quality & Compliance Access, Reuse Interoperability |
| Maximum number of participants (individuals and/or teams) | Up to five participating organisations for the full development of the plugin. Additional organisations can join the introductory webinar and get tips on how to configure the tool. |
| Who should apply? | This support offer is aimed at repository managers, administrators, data stewards, and technical staff across all scientific disciplines. Whether you are looking to evaluate your repository’s FAIRness, embed FAIR assessment services, or customize evaluation criteria for your community, this training is for you. |
| Skills needed to participate | A basic understanding of FAIR principles. For the plugin development, participants should have basic programming knowledge in Python and be familiar with metadata formats (JSON, XML) and HTTP requests. The training is incremental, so all levels of expertise are welcome. |
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| Duration & expected effort | The support offer will take place from October to November 2025. We anticipate that successful applicants will need to allocate 5 days to undertake this support offer. The 5 days will be spent participating in 3 workshops and the development of the plugin (2-3 days). Finally, there will be a dedicated wrap-up session, where we will show our plugin and how it works with our system. The pilot support will include more extensive evaluation and feedback to help us shape the future open calls. |
| Who will be involved in providing the support? | Expert: Fernando Aguilar - tenured scientist at the Spanish National Research Council, Computer and Data Scientist and the main developer of FAIR EVA. SupportFacilitator: Alessandra Polimeno (DANS) |
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