About FAMENL

FAMENL (FAIR Metadata Exchange Netherlands) is a collaborative initiative that builds shared metadata infrastructure for Dutch life science research infrastructures.

The Problem

Life science research infrastructures in the Netherlands each operate with their own data management systems tailored to specific domains, bioimaging, omics, stem cell research, environmental monitoring. These systems cannot speak to each other. Metadata produced in one domain is invisible to another, making cross-disciplinary data reuse and integration unnecessarily difficult.

Our Approach

FAMENL develops FAIR metadata management layers that sit between domain-specific platforms and generic storage solutions. Rather than replacing existing tools, we build bridges: using the ISA standard to describe dataset relationships, deploying FAIRDOM-SEEK as a unified user-facing interface, and packaging research outputs as Digital Research Objects in RO-Crate format.

A key principle is accessibility. FAMENL delivers simple, tabular metadata templates so that individual researchers can produce standards-compliant data without requiring deep technical expertise.

"Simple, tabular data templates, empowering individuals to produce data compliant with community metadata standards without requiring technical expertise."

Key Technologies

• ISA framework: describes the relationships between investigations, studies, and assays across domains
• FAIRDOM-SEEK: unified frontend with multi-level access permissions across infrastructure boundaries
• RO-Crate: packages datasets and metadata as portable Digital Research Objects
• REMBI: bioimaging metadata standard for microscopy

Relation to prepFAME

prepFAME is a 2026 preparatory project that maps existing metadata standards and requirements across Dutch life science research infrastructures. Its findings directly inform the design and scope of FAMENL.