CARE Principles

A set of principles for Indigenous data governance articulated by the Global Indigenous Data Alliance in 2019, encompassing Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics, intended to complement the FAIR data principles with people- and purpose-oriented obligations.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 21 May 2026

Worked examples

Is an instance

A research data repository publishes a CARE-aligned policy describing how Indigenous community authority is recognised in data access decisions.

Is an instance

A national funder requests applicants to describe how their data management plan engages with CARE Principles where Indigenous data may be involved.

Looks similar, but isn't

Not an instance

Technical implementation of FAIR alone, without engagement with Indigenous Peoples' rights and interests, does not satisfy the CARE Principles.

Not an instance

A data sharing decision made unilaterally by an external research team, without Indigenous community participation, runs counter to CARE.

The CARE Principles were developed to address the limitations of FAIR principles in contexts involving Indigenous Peoples' data, recognising that technical interoperability alone does not honour Indigenous Peoples' rights and interests. CARE asserts that data ecosystems must deliver collective benefit, recognise Indigenous Peoples' authority to control data about themselves and their territories, embed responsibility in those who steward such data, and adhere to ethical practices grounded in Indigenous worldviews. CARE is widely cited alongside FAIR in contemporary research data policy.

References

GIDA CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance (2019).

Use in your systems

JATS XML <role> element

xml

<role vocab="credit"
      vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
      vocab-term="CARE Principles"
      vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/care-principles" />

Schema.org DefinedTerm (JSON-LD)

json

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DefinedTerm",
  "name": "CARE Principles",
  "identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/care-principles",
  "description": "A set of principles for Indigenous data governance articulated by the Global Indigenous Data Alliance in 2019, encompassing Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics, intended to complement the FAIR data principles with people- and purpose-oriented obligations.",
  "inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/indigenous-data-governance-care-principles/",
  "url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/care-principles",
  "sameAs": [
    "CARE",
    "CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance"
  ],
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}