Introducing FAIR Station

Across many areas of research, field stations and marine laboratories (FSMLs) are where science begins. This is where observations are made, samples are collected, and long-term studies take shape. Yet the systems that support this work are often focused on logistics alone: reserving space, coordinating access, and managing operations.

What happens next, how data are described, connected, and ultimately shared, is typically handled elsewhere, and often inconsistently. At UC3, we see this as a missed opportunity. Over the past decade, we have worked on different parts of this challenge. With the FAIR Station project, we are turning our attention upstream to the platform researchers already use to engage with field stations.

A moment that matters

Reserving time at a field station is one of the few universal touchpoints across place-based research. It is a moment where researchers, administrators, and institutional expectations come together. Today, that moment is largely administrative. It could also be where shared practices around data, metadata, and stewardship begin. 

The FAIR Station project is built on this idea. Rather than introducing entirely new systems, the FAIR Station approach starts with what already works and asks a different question: what becomes possible if this layer of the research lifecycle is opened up and connected?

Our work will build on the Reservation Application Management System (RAMS), developed by the University of California Natural Reserve System (UCNRS), and reimagines it as something more than a single-institution system. The goal is to evolve this foundation into an open, extensible platform that can be adopted, adapted, and integrated across a broader community. 

Opening up the ecosystem

UC3’s work has consistently focused on enabling change at scale by working within existing research workflows. When systems align with how research actually happens, and when they interoperate with the broader ecosystem, they can support lasting and meaningful change. The FAIR Station project continues this approach.

We are working toward an open-source platform that acts as a connective layer between fieldwork and the rest of the research lifecycle. By prioritizing openness, modularity, and well-defined interfaces, the FAIR Station project is exploring how this layer can function as a hub that connects with research data management services, persistent identifier infrastructure, repositories, and related systems.

Exactly how this takes shape will be explored with the community. The opportunity is not only to improve individual workflows, but to enable new kinds of connections:

• Clearer links between field stations, research activities, and downstream outputs
• More consistent and reusable metadata generated as part of everyday workflows
• Greater visibility into the impact of place-based research across institutions and regions
• New integrations with tools and services that support data stewardship, publication, and reuse

These are directions, not fixed endpoints. The FAIR Station project is being developed as a space for experimentation, iteration, and collaboration.

Working with the community

From the outset, the FAIR Station project is grounded in partnership. We are engaging field station staff, researchers, and organizations across the open infrastructure landscape to help shape what this effort becomes. Through advisory groups, pilot deployments, and collaborations with complementary services, we aim to ensure that the approach reflects real-world needs and remains adaptable across different contexts. This is especially important as we move from a system that has been successful within the University of California to something that can be used more broadly. Opening up this work is not just a technical step. It is a community process.

Now hiring: help shape what comes next

The FAIR Station project is still taking shape. While there is a strong foundation and a clear direction, many of the most important decisions (how this evolves, how it integrates with other systems, and how it serves different communities) are still ahead. With funding from the Moore Foundation, the FAIR Station team is hiring a Product Manager through Code for Science & Society (CS&S), our fiscal sponsor and a long-standing partner in supporting open, community-driven infrastructure.

This is a role for someone interested not just in building a product, but in helping define what this space can become. Working closely with UC3, UCNRS, CS&S, and partners across the FSML community, this person will help translate ideas into a clear roadmap, guide pilot work, and ensure that what emerges remains practical, open, and responsive to real needs.

If you are interested in helping shape the FAIR Station project, or know someone who might be, we encourage you to learn more about the position.