Modern research requires the use of standards: the CHARME project and its aims

Introduction One of the most pressing need of modern research is efficient data sharing and integration, but tools and legislation about standards and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that scientists can currently use are still not enough comprehensive, efficient and well harmonised. The production of omics data, by the use of High Throughput Next Generation Sequencing Technologies (HT-NGS), is providing incredible amounts of data at a rate much higher than the one taken to the scientists for to analyse and interpret them. This unbalanced situation prevents the scientific community to exploit the full potential that this "data production revolution" provides. The use of standards for the production and publication of research data is essential to maximize the results of research efforts and technology transfer because only standards can assure and ensure quality, efficient sharing and data interoperability. Reproducibility is essential for good research practices and reproducibility of data and experimental procedures can be obtained only if research data are produced and published by adhering to well established quality standards. Standards and SOPs must be key elements of any research project and be adopted in lab procedure as well as for in silico data production, storage and analysis. The CHARME project: "Harmonising standardisation strategies to increase efficiency and competitiveness of European life-science research", is a COST Action (CA 15110) whose main goal is to unite experts from all areas of scientific research and strategic development (academia, industry, policy, legal, ethical, etc.), joining their expertise to address needs and challenges along the value chain for life sciences research across Europe. The objectives are to address main gaps in standards and SOPs in different research domains, co-ordinate current research efforts in this field, integrate different stakeholder groups in CHARME's activities, co-develop a common research roadmap on quality management and standardization to provide the European Commission the support for the positioning of Europe as a "leading partner" in international standardisation and standardisation activities in life sciences, including input for technology transfer and cooperation with private enterprises. Methods To achieve the CHARME's 4-year vision, an integrated project strategy has been designed to ensure de-centralised decision-making and enhanced cooperation between the different stakeholders and partners. The leverage of the COST Action CHARME relates to four pillars: 1) the creation of a network of all relevant stakeholder groups involved in standardisation, to exchange and harmonise activities; 2) the development of a cross-cutting education and training strategy to raise awareness and facilitate the implementation of standards and SOPs; 3) strengthening of innovation creation and technology transfer; 4) strategy development to urge the implementation of standards and SOPs. This will be achieved via conferences and thematic workshops, short-term scientific missions, training schools and symposia, and deployment of standards optimising the transfer from basic research into innovation. Conferences and thematic workshops will be essential for to involve as many as possible experts from pan-European standardisation projects and initiatives, and attract as many as possible stakeholders, to present and discuss the state of the art in their specific research domain, to address current challenges and to collaborate with CHARME in finding and develop new effective solutions. Results On March 21st, representatives from 26 countries met in Brussels to execute the kick-off meeting. The participants exchanged information about the need for understanding formats and standards for biological data and computer models in systems biology research, and elected Chair, Vice Chair and working group leaders. During this meeting the action plan for the 1st Grant Period (01/05/2016 - 30/04/2017) was agreed among members and the Science and Administrative Officers of the Action. This plan include different events and Short Term Scientific Missions (STMS). A first step forward was the CHARME kick off Conference, which was held on June 21-22, 2016 in Warsaw. The conference: "The CHARME of standardistaion in life science", was designed to promote CHARME's efforts about standardisation to the broader scientific public, to merge the content with existing initiatives and finally to bring the experts together for information exchange. Representatives from academia, industry and standardisation bodies who have been making exceptional contributions to develop and disseminate standards were invited. The conference attracted more than 70 researchers from different European countries. Among the resources and initiatives that were presented there were: the "BioSharing Information Resources" (http://www.biosharing.org), a curated, web-based, searchable portal of three linked registries of content standards, databases, and data policies in the life sciences, broadly encompassing the biological, natural and biomedical sciences; COMBINE, a grass-roots standardisation initiative to coordinate the development of various community standards and formats for computational models; FAIRDOM (http://www.fair-dom.org), an initiative, funded by ERANet ERASysAPP and EU Research Infrastructure ISBE, to enable the systems biology community to produce and publish FAIR Data, Operating procedures and Models; the Big Data Reference Architecture (BDRA), whose development has been committed to "The International Standards Organisation (ISO)"; The Human Proteome Organization (HUPO) Proteomics Standards Initiative (PSI), whose mandate is to define community standards for data representation in proteomics to facilitate data comparison, exchange and verification; and many others. Another step forward is represented by the thematic workshop in Rome (IT), 25-26 October 2016, on 'Reproducibility, standards and SOP in bioinformatics' co-organised by CHARME, EMBnet (The Global Bioinformatics Network) and NETTAB (International Workshop Series on Network Tools and Applications for Biology) and hosted by the ELIXIR-IIB (ELIXIR Italian Node) at the Italian National Research Council head-quarter. This workshop will primarily involve bioinformaticians and computer scientists presenting and discussing methods, theoretical approaches, algorithms, tools, platforms, practical applications and experiences on the focus theme. Conclusions Since March 2016 CHARME has attracted 3 additional partners from different countries and others are willing to join. A survey among stakeholder that participated at the CHARME Conference in Warsaw has been an important resource to address stakeholder needs and the way CHARME is perceived (benefits it can provide). Main issues raised were the current lack of proper tools, the need for linking among different initiatives and of compatible/convertible standards. Solutions for metadata curation and for software availability were also requested as well as initiatives for to address and solve gaps in knowledge and communication. CHARME web site: http://www.cost-charme.eu/ Management Committee Members: http://www.cost-charme.eu/the-action/members Contacts: http://www.cost-charme.eu/contact