FAIRness Starts at the Point of Creation: How to Implement Electronic Lab Notebooks to Support FAIR Practices

Presentation by Dr Samantha Pearman-Kanza on "FAIRness Starts at the Point of Creation: How to Implement Electronic Lab Notebooks to Support FAIR Practices" for STEP-UP 2026

Abstract: FAIR data is often thought about at the end of a project and treated as a box ticking exercise that can be achieved through checklists, automated assessment tools, or the adoption of the right data management tools. However, data cannot be retrospectively made FAIR, and no amount of post processing can compensate for data that was poorly planned or inconsistently captured. This talk explores how FAIRness needs to be built in from the point of creation. It argues that good data stewardship and appropriate research software support are central to this process, rather than relying on tools alone. After all, digitising poor paper based practices does not magically improve them, it just makes them digital. Drawing on practical experience, it highlights how early decisions about data capture, structure, and workflow shape the long term usability and reusability of data. Using Electronic Lab Notebooks as a practical example, the talk examines how ELNs can be implemented and configured in ways that support and encourage FAIR principles, rather than simply digitising existing practices. It emphasises the importance of thoughtful implementation, user adoption and engagement, and above all continued training and support to enable genuinely FAIRer data.