Within the LIFES community we adhere to the following principles:​

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• Commitment to the FAIR Principles - LIFES supports the FAIR Principles as a foundation for improving digital resource interoperability and machine-actionability, emphasizing globally consistent and robust implementations guided by expert community interpretations.

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• As open as possible, as restricted as necessary - While openness is encouraged, LIFES acknowledges the need for controlled access to data and services due to privacy, proprietary, and security concerns, ensuring both humans and machines understand usage conditions.

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• As distributed as possible, as centralized as necessary - LIFES promotes distributed systems for greater security, inclusivity, and privacy, aiming to create an equitable ecosystem that avoids centralization and empowers data owners with control.

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• Follow the ‘hourglass’ approach: maximum freedom to implement - By standardizing only the core (FAIR Digital Objects), the hourglass model ensures maximum freedom in how data is produced and analyzed, fostering innovation and flexibility.

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• Prevent single points of failure, or provider lock-in - LIFES opposes monopolistic control over data services, advocating for equitable, resilient systems that avoid vendor lock-in and ensure fair access across communities.