foundingGIDE Community Event 2025 Report

foundingGIDE Community Event 2025 Report Project Title Founding a Global Image Data Ecosystem Project Acronym FoundingGIDE Project Number 101130216 Project Start Date 01.01.2024 Project Duration 30 Months Table of contents Summary 2 Key insights 2 Plenary 2 Panel Discussion 3 Workshop Sessions 4 Next steps 4 Acknowledgments 5 Page 1 of 5 Summary The second foundingGIDE Community Event, held in Brisbane, Australia, on 1718 October 2025, brought together researchers, infrastructure providers, data experts, and community members from 22 countries Figure 1 to advance the goal of building a sustainable and interoperable Global Image Data Ecosystem GIDE. Under the theme Imaging Data Ecosystem: Towards Shared Solutions, the 1.5-day programme showcased the latest developments in imaging data interoperability and reflected on what is required to build a sustainable global image data ecosystem. The gathering reaffirmed the critical role of shared standards, aligned infrastructures, and strong community engagement as essential for advancing scientific discovery. Key insights A central insight from the event was that technical innovation alone cannot achieve global interoperability since progress requires a simultaneous commitment to culture change, community coordination, and policy alignment. Discussions highlighted how global research ecosystems, such as Microscopy Australia, National Imaging Facility in Australia, RIKEN in Japan and Europeʼs Horizon framework, are globally aligned in their commitment to image data interoperability. Figure 1 Geographical representation of foundingGIDE Community Event 2025 participants Significant progress has been made in standardization efforts, particularly foundingGIDEʼs work in harmonizing metadata models and ontologies for both bioimaging and preclinical imaging. Ultimately, the global scalability of interoperable imaging research depends on a coordinated approach to data, software, and community across national and global levels. Sustained expertise, training opportunities, and professional development were identified as crucial for keeping pace with emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. Communication across disciplines and national boundaries was also highlighted as a vital enabling factor, as ongoing dialogue helps prevent fragmentation and ensures that solutions are grounded in the experiences of diverse scientific communities. Overall, the event underscored that the future of global imaging depends on balancing technology, culture, community, communication, and policy. Plenary Across five plenary sessions, speakers outlined the current landscape of the imaging data ecosystem. The first session highlighted how national infrastructures in Australia and Europe are coordinating imaging data management through shared strategies and distributed networks. Insights from RIKEN highlighted how the combination of multi-modal Page 2 of 5 10.5281/zenodo.17799360 datasets and harmonised standards can meaningfully speed advances in neuroscience. The second session focused on metadata and ontologies, outlining efforts to harmonize models across biological and preclinical imaging from the foundingGIDE BioImaging and Preclinical Stream and related initiatives. Speakers showed how aligned metadata models and emerging national application profiles are enabling interoperability across repositories. The third session examined the infrastructure and cultural changes needed for imaging big data. National strategies emphasized persistent identifiers, sustainable storage, and FAIR practices, while systems like PITSCHI illustrated automated data management and the growing link between workflows, metadata, and governance. The fourth session explored cross-disciplinary collaboration, presenting tools for metadata capture, federated data discovery, and secure institutional sharing. FAIR computational workflows supported by imaging ontologies showed how collaboration is reshaping research practices. The final session looked at infrastructures for future technologies and AI, with speakers describing interoperable architectures, cloud systems, and high-performance computing. The talks highlighted a rapidly evolving landscape where AI-driven analysis depends on accessible and well-annotated datasets. Panel Discussion The panel discussion titled What Drives Success in Community-Led Solutions? convened experts from major research infrastructures, institutes, and policy bodies. Panelists Figure 2 reflected on the essential ingredients that sustain global, community-led initiatives. The discussion emphasized that technology provides the necessary foundation for interoperability, while cultural norms around openness and sharing determine whether these tools are truly impactful. Figure 2 Panel on Policy and Funders. The session features from left to right: Nathalie Gaudreault Allen Institute for Cell Science, USA, Aastha Mathur Euro-BioImaging ERIC, Tomomi Shimogori RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Japan), Hilary Hanahoe Research Data Alliance) and Joe Shapter Australian Research Infrastructure Advisory Committee). The panel was chaired by Lisa Yen Microscopy Australia) and Wojtek Goscinski National Imaging Facility). Photo credit: Richard OʼLeary The conversation stressed that people are ultimately responsible for shaping successful ecosystems. Communication was described as the connective tissue that enables diverse groups to collaborate effectively, while policy emerged as a powerful lever that, when informed by community needs, can support interoperability and adoption at scale. The discussion converged on a shared vision of the next decade: an interconnected world in Page 3 of 5 10.5281/zenodo.17799360 which imaging data moves easily across infrastructures and disciplines, supported by harmonized standards, empowered communities, and a global commitment to reuse. foundingGIDE was noted as a concrete step toward this future, offering a framework for alignment across institutions, and continents. Workshop Sessions Three workshop sessions allowed participants to engage directly with key challenges and opportunities in imaging data interoperability Figure 3. The workshop on Harmonising Preclinical Imaging Data identified the ongoing lack of shared standards as a major barrier to effective data exchange and the importance of establishing minimum FAIR-aligned metadata requirements. In the session on Harmonising BioImaging Data, participants reviewed the metadata elements recommended in foundingGIDE and identified areas where further development is needed. The workshop on Community roles and opportunities in the Global Image Data Ecosystem examined how standards and infrastructures gain traction within diverse scientific communities. Participants concluded that effective adoption often begins with simple, practical solutions that make interoperable practices possible, then progressively easier, then normal, and eventually rewarding. Sustainability, community partnerships, and long-term coordination emerged as recurring priorities. Figure 3 Workshop Sessions at foundingGIDE Community Event 2025. Photo credit: Richard OʼLeary Next steps As the project enters its final phase, the community is warmly invited to the third and final foundingGIDE Community Event 2026, which will take place in Heidelberg, Germany from 47 May 2026. This meeting will offer an opportunity to consolidate the progress achieved throughout the project, highlight key accomplishments, and celebrate the collaborations that have emerged. It will also serve as a critical forum for shaping how the foundational work initiated through foundingGIDE can continue to support and strengthen a sustainable Global Image Data Ecosystem. Page 4 of 5 10.5281/zenodo.17799360 Acknowledgments Special thanks to Microscopy Australia and National Imaging Facility, the local organizers in Brisbane, Australia, for hosting the event. Gratitude is extended to the Organizing Committee and Scientific Committee for their dedication and effort in shaping the event's impactful program. We also recognize all the speakers, panelists, workshop chairs, and participants for their valuable contributions and commitment to advancing the global image data ecosystem. foundingGIDE has received funding from the European Unionʼs Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 101130216. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. Page 5 of 5 10.5281/zenodo.17799360