The FaceBase Consortium was founded in 2009 with the aim of providing a centralised resource for craniofacial researchers. Operating as a hub-and-spoke model during the first 10 years, FaceBase has now accumulated hundreds of datasets across multiple species, including human. In this Techniques and resources article, Yang Chai and colleagues provide an overview of the latest accomplishments of the FaceBase Consortium and describe how the platform is designed to facilitate open data sharing, mining and visualisation in a user-friendly manner. FaceBase projects range from detailed morphological characterisations of craniofacial morphogenesis to transcriptomic and epigenomic analyses; from the development of a standardised ontology to the identification of candidate genes underlying human craniofacial disorders. The authors also set out the future goals for FaceBase now it has entered its third iteration and has opened up beyond its ‘spoke’ contributors – inviting all members of the community working on craniofacial development to contribute to the project.
