CDIF Version 1.1 is Now Final: Advancing Cross-Domain FAIR Interoperability
October 5, 2026
Following its initial release in June 2026 and a subsequent phase of testing and implementation, Version 1.1 of the Cross-Domain Interoperability Framework (CDIF) Profiles has now been finalised.
This milestone provides communities, research infrastructures and organisations with a set of implementation profiles designed to facilitate the interoperable exchange and reuse of FAIR resources across domains.
Supporting cross-domain interoperability through implementation profiles
CDIF Version 1.1 provides a set of profiles for JSON-LD implementation, designed to support cross-domain FAIR systems and applications.
The profiles cover several key areas required to describe, discover and exchange data and related resources:
- Core Metadata
- Discovery
- Concept Schemes
- Codelists
- Data Description
- Data Structure
- Manifests
Each profile provides specific guidance to support the interoperable exchange of FAIR – Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable – resources across different domains, infrastructures and communities.
Together, these profiles contribute to the development of a common, domain-neutral technical “lingua franca”, helping different systems and research communities exchange information more consistently while building on existing standards and practices.
From the framework to practical implementation
The finalisation of CDIF Version 1.1 represents an important step towards the practical implementation of cross-domain interoperability.
Rather than developing an entirely new set of standards, CDIF provides guidance on how existing standards and approaches can be combined and implemented consistently. This is intended to facilitate interoperability between resources originating from different research domains and infrastructures and to support the practical implementation of the FAIR principles.
The testing and implementation phase following the initial June release contributed to consolidating the profiles and preparing Version 1.1 for wider use.
Further developments through CDIF4EOSC
Through the CDIF4EOSC project, further work is already underway to expand and strengthen the framework.
Future developments include work in areas such as provenance, data quality and mappings, alongside continued work on data access, time, geography and units of measure.
These developments will further support the implementation of CDIF across different domains, infrastructures and communities and contribute to improving cross-domain interoperability for FAIR data and digital resources.
Explore CDIF Version 1.1
The final CDIF Version 1.1 is now available online, providing access to the profiles and associated implementation guidance.
The technical resources are also available through the CDIF GitHub repository.
For further information or feedback on CDIF, please contact cdif-feedback@codata.org.
