The Australian National Persistent Identifier (PID) Strategy and Roadmap

PIDs are crucial for impact tracking, as they are globally unique machine-readable codes assigned to objects such as scholarly articles, people, datasets, instruments, or online resources. They serve as unalterable markers for locating and identifying specific resources amidst the dynamic landscape of the internet. PIDs always maintain their integrity, enabling efficient and persistent access to digital resources, and enable transparent reporting. PIDs build upon the scholarly communication efforts supporting FAIR ​principles​, research integrity and reproducibility for the research community.  

In 2022, the Australian Access Federation (AAF) and the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) commissioned an analysis into incentives for the adoption of persistent identifiers (PIDs) by the Australian research sector. The report titled “Incentives to Invest in Identifiers: A cost-benefit analysis of persistent identifiers in Australian research systems Report”, outlines how implementing PIDs can save time and money for researchers and the benefits of PIDs through metadata reuse.  

By implementing PIDs for people, datasets and instruments, research facilities can help identify strengths and weaknesses in research capabilities and reduce administrative burden on researchers. The report also found that ​PIDs​ can:  

• reduce time: the total time manually rekeying metadata is 38,000 days per year  
• reduce cost: the total cost of this manual rekeying is $24 million per year 
• reduce effort: administrative tasks make up the bulk (30-40%) of the researchers’ time that is wasted. 

The AAF leads the Australian ORCID Consortium, ​which​ provides a unique persistent identifier for individuals – an Open Researcher Contributor ID. It enables open, transparent and trustworthy connections between researchers, their contributions and affiliations, as they undertake research and innovation.  

​​Melroy Almeida AAF’s ORCID Engagement and Support Lead, says, “Research relies on various resources including collaborators, related projects, funding opportunities, labs, data, and observations. By improving how easily researchers can access these resources, repetitive administrative work can be reduced, boosting productivity, and fostering meaningful and impactful research.”​​​ 

The PIDs Cost Benefit Analysis Report led to the development of the ​​​Australian National Persistent Identifier (PID) Strategy and Roadmap​, which ​was released in early 2024​.

National PID Strategy  

Led by the ARDC, extensive consultations, including national workshops, working groups, webinars, and an open call for individual and group submissions, have informed the release of the National PID Strategy in ​February​ 2024. Resources can be viewed on the Australian National PID Strategy and Roadmap website here.  

AAF’s CEO and ORCID Board Director, Heath Marks, a member of the National PID Strategy Advisory Group, says “The Australian National PID Strategy outlines key steps to enhance research quality and optimise the national research landscape. The AAF look forward to continuing to actively collaborate with the ARDC to ensure priority PIDs, including ORCID, are adopted by researchers and institutions, driving improved research outcomes across Australia.”

Stakeholder Action Groups 

The ARDC has gathered Stakeholder Action Groups to enable the Australian National PID Strategy and to contribute to the National Collaborative Roadmap. The first set of Stakeholder Action Groups are Funders, Institutions and NCRIS facilities.  

The AAF is a member of these Action Groups and provides advice and input into the development and implementation of the Strategy and Roadmap. We look forward to continuing our collaborative work within the Stakeholder Action Groups to ensure the successful implementation of ORCID and PIDs in the community. 

To learn more, visit:

• AAF: ORCID Australia – https://aaf.edu.au/orcid/  
• ARDC: Australian National PID Strategy and Roadmap – https://pidroadmap.ardc.edu.au/  
• Incentives to Invest in Identifiers report – https://zenodo.org/records/7100578. 

AAF has partnered with Microscopy Australia exploring impact tracking through persistent identifiers (PIDs).

Microscopy Australia are a consortium of university-based microscopy facilities that more than 3,500 researchers across Australia use each year. They aim to empower Australian science and innovation by making advanced microscopes accessible to all researchers.

One of the greatest challenges in research is to connect and report on distributed services and this incubator explores how richer reporting, impact tracking and usage data can be provided through ORCID iDs and PIDs across national research infrastructure.