Data cooperatives empower communities to collectively govern data, but existing frameworks like FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) lack mechanisms for equitable and democratic control of data. We present FAIR-ER, extending FAIR with two dimensions: Equitability - ensuring fair access and benefit-sharing regardless of individual contributions, and Regulability - enforcing member sovereignty through governance rules. The framework bridges critical gaps between FAIR’s technical focus and cooperative values, demonstrated through both its operational building blocks and governance mechanisms. As a conceptual contribution, FAIR-ER provides a foundation for both technical implementation and future empirical validation in cooperative environments, advancing the development of ethically-grounded data ecosystems.
