FAIR is Fair, but Open is Outstanding

The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) established its initial Data Sharing Principles (DSPs) for the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS) in 2005, based on the concept of "full and open exchange of data, metadata and products." In 2015, GEO adopted new DSPs that call for data to be "open by default," with no charges or restrictions on reuse unless specific instruments, policies, or legislation preclude fully open data sharing. Providing data openly, without restrictions on use, enables more flexible integration and reuse of data to create new interoperable products and services that are essential to achieving widespread societal benefits. The FAIR principles seek to make data more findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable, but do not necessarily require fully open data sharing, e.g., through the use of the public domain or open access licenses. FAIR may represent a useful advance for some scientific fields where most data remain difficult to find, access, integrate, and reuse, but for the GEO community and the Earth Observations community more generally, fully open access to increasing volumes and diversity of data should remain a high priority and should not potentially be undercut by less open FAIR approaches. We document here the apparent differences between the GEOSS DSPs and associated GEOSS Data Management Principles (DMPs), and the FAIR principles, including analysis of available implementation guidelines and web resources. We utilize this "cross-walk" to make recommendations for improvements in both GEOSS DSP/DMP and FAIR implementation guidelines and activities, and for ways to utilize both FAIR and fully open access approaches to advance overall scientific data access, data stewardship, and the realization of societal benefits.