The API-02 project helps make research data easier to share and use across the ETH Domain institutions. Researchers at institutions such as PSI, ETH Zurich, WSL, Empa, and CSCS generate large amounts of valuable scientific data, but these data are often stored in different systems that do not communicate easily with one another. The goal of the project is to create a common way for users and software applications to access open research data, regardless of where it is stored.

Over the past two years, the project partners worked together to agree on a shared solution for accessing data and to test it in their own environments. They developed and evaluated prototypes that connect data catalogues, storage systems, and scientific software through a common interface. This showed that data stored at different institutions can be accessed in a consistent way without requiring researchers to learn different tools or procedures for every platform.

The project has also encouraged closer collaboration between data service providers across the ETH Domain and across the other API Measure 2 projects. By working together, the partners improved their understanding of different approaches to storing and preserving research data and identified opportunities to share data more effectively. This supports the principles of Open Research Data, helping research results become easier to find, access, and reuse by others.

In the final phase of the project, the focus is on documenting the solution, providing practical examples, and demonstrating how data can be accessed across different institutions using the common approach. These results will help future services adopt the same standards and contribute to a more connected and efficient research data ecosystem.