Notwithstanding the global interest and ongoing efforts to manage Invasive Alien Species (IAS), limit their spread and/or their impact on native communities and ecosystems, the path to this goal remains lengthy and fraught with significant challenges.<br> A variety of approaches to support an efficient management of IAS have been outlined, including effective data sharing, iterative collaboration between stakeholders, as well as scientific communication and engagement, among others (Onley et al. 2025). Specifically for data sharing, several guidelines have emerged to ensure the accurate management and communication of scientific information, including the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles and open science practices. FAIR adoptions are vital to enable the interoperablity and reusability of digital research products (Wilkinson et al. 2016), and open science enhances their transparency and reliability (Bertram et al. 2023). In addition to such broadly applicable guidelines, specific recommendations and standards have emerged for IAS research and data management (Groom et al. 2017; Groom et al. 2019). Implementing effective data management practices alongside enhanced collaboration and communication between stakeholders can support the evidence-based management of IAS.<br> <br> The opportunity to test and validate this integrated approach was provided by USEit -<br> Use of operational synergies for the study and integrated management of invasive alien species in Italy -<br> a multidisciplinary, multi-ecosystem, and multi-taxonomic Italian project focusing on IAS. USEit combines expertise from scientists studying IAS in different ecosystems (aquatic and terrestrial) to find synergies across different data collection and data management methods, ultimately outlining operational and technical recommendations suitable for adoption within and beyond the project.<br> <br> The recommendations were drafted based on an evaluation of the responses to a national survey, subsequently reviewed by national experts of biological invasions, and validated through SWOT analysis, i.e. semi-quantitative analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats identified for each recommendation (Azzurro et al. 2025). Such recommendations were adopted and further expanded within USEit. Through this process, detailed technical guidelines for IAS data management were collaboratively defined and incorporated into the project's Data Management Plan (DMP). The DMP was published as a machine-actionable, open access document describing standards, schemas, and repositories used for a diverse array of (meta)data, including occurrences, stable isotopes, elemental composition, remote sensing, DNA metabarcoding, citizen science, and acoustic telemetry (Rosati and Di Muri 2025). Overall, USEit data, services and related metadata are published into open-access repositories and available through the LifeWatch Italy Data Portal and Metadata Catalogue (LifeWatch Italy Data Portal 2025; Tarallo et al. 2025). All digital research products are assigned with persistent identifiers, described by clear metadata and enriched with controlled vocabularies to enable their interpretation, reuse and interoperation. In addition, all digital products generated and published within the project are shared within a unique landing page representing the main access point to USEit research outcomes as well as to communication material and events for public engagements (LifeWatch Italy 2025).<br> These results could be readily translated into practical solutions for IAS management, showing that the implementation of community-shared FAIR practices across multidisciplinary contexts enhances our ability to manage natural resources effectively while fostering new opportunities for scientific and societal growth.
