In the 12 years that ORCID has been sharing the Public Data File, it has been downloaded more than 190,000 times, serving as a data source for a diverse range of projects such as the analysis of relationships and individual trajectories within the research community, scientific migrations, collaboration networks, and the adoption of ORCID across disciplines and locations. However, we understand that using the Public Data File in its current form requires a large amount of effort. Would-be users must possess an understanding of and skill with working with such a substantial dataset: how to download, parse, extract, and upload the data into a local environment—before analysis can even begin.

Building on our current relationship with Figshare which serves as the repository for the Public Data File, ORCID member Digital Science has now generously offered to host the 2024 Public Data File into Dimension’s Google Big Query (GBQ), meaning that the data is directly available for exploration and analysis without the need to first create a local copy. 

Google Big Query is a cloud-based, fully-managed data analytics platform, optimized for handling large datasets efficiently. This makes it an ideal platform for exploring and analyzing the ORCID Public Data File, which contains millions of records. The ORCID Public Data File has been used for projects such as metadata enrichment, visualizing connections between authors, data sharing practices in a particular region, and analysis of scientist migration patterns. 

The beta version of this service is now available, and we hope that the lower effort required to use it will enable our community to explore and develop new innovative use cases for the ORCID data, such as reporting on peer review practices, or analysis that involves linking ORCID data with data from the World Bank. While the dataset itself is and will remain freely available, those wishing to use it will need to establish their own GBQ account; Google offers a free tier of usage up to a certain level, but levies fees for usage beyond that. Within the free tier, it is possible to run many queries before running out of quota. Digital Science has also provided example sample queries that allow you to efficiently query different parts of the ORCID dataset.

To be clear, this service is offered in addition to, and does not replace, the archival copies of our Public Data File, which continue to be available for download from our Figshare repository.  

What is in the ORCID Public Data File?

As mentioned on our website, The ORCID Public Data File contains all publicly available information for all ORCID iDs within the registry at the time of creation. ORCID releases the Public Data File under a CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication as further described in our Privacy Policy. Accordingly, ORCID does not impose restrictions or conditions on use of the Public Data File, but we have published recommended community norms in our Public Data File Use Policy. 

In this version of the service, the ORCID Public Data File on Google Big Query reflects the data that is contained in the ORCID summaries files, meaning that extended details of work level (e.g. article) metadata is still only available in the downloadable versions of the ORCID Public Data File available on Figshare.

ORCID and Digital Science invites you to explore the ORCID Public Data File in Google Big Query. If you utilize the data in your project, we ask that you give attribution to Digital Science for the tool, linking back to this page, and to ORCID as the source of the Public Data File and link back to this page where technologically feasible, to facilitate access for others.

We’d love to learn about how you’re using the ORCID Public Data File on Dimension’s Google Big Query tool, so please let us know!

The post ORCID Partners with Digital Science to Make Openness Even More Accessible appeared first on ORCID.

Earlier this month, our ORCID consortia community came together from 15 different countries for an engaging and productive one-and-a-half-day meeting in Munich, hosted by the Ludwig Maximillian Universität. The sessions provided valuable insights into the achievements and challenges of consortia leads while reinforcing a shared sense of purpose in advancing open infrastructure.

Learning, problem-solving, and strategy

The event was a great opportunity for the 16 participating consortia to share their achievements and lessons learned, providing a rich exchange of experiences. Through shared challenges and successes emerged a strong sense of belonging.

A key focus on the first day was community engagement and how to grow consortia. Together with board member Clare Appavoo (CRKN), we led a discussion on attracting new members and increasing uptake. The day continued with a collaborative problem-solving activity that allowed participants to explore ways to support members more effectively, tackling common challenges together.

Consortia also had the possibility of contributing to ORCID’s strategic development for the plan next cycle (2026–2029), through a dynamic session that encouraged reflection and debate. The second day featured a dedicated session where two board members, Heath Marks (AAF) and César Rendón (Consortia), shared their experiences as board members and the initial motivation they had to apply for the board. This provided participants with a better understanding of ORCID’s broader activities and governance.

Highlighting the value of in-person meetings

One of the intentions of these in-person consortia workshops is to help strengthen connections and build a sense of community and camaraderie. Being able to share challenges and successes makes the discussions deeper and more meaningful. Problem-solving activities helped group engagement, while strategy talks provided consortia leads with an overview of the ORCID strategy development cycle, giving them the option to contribute their opinions about ORCID’s development path and position in crucial aspects of the scholarly communication ecosystem, such as the influence of AI technologies. Participants also exchanged useful ideas, like improving newsletters, member onboarding, and integration support, leading to clear next steps for action.

We look forward to meeting in person again in September 2025, with appreciation to the Tertiary Education and Research Network of South Africa (TENET) for hosting!

Continuing discussions virtually

Apart from the in-person meetings, the Consortia Interest Group (CIG) meets quarterly in two different sessions to accommodate participants’ different time zones. The CIG consists of up to two representatives from each consortia lead organization to share successes, lessons learned, and how they’ve overcome challenges. Co-chairs from our CIG community help facilitate meaningful conversations. Our next virtual meetings will take place in April and June.

If your organization is thinking about becoming a consortia lead, we encourage you to start with ORCID for Consortia: Roles & Responsibilities and reach out to us.

The in-person ORCID Consortia Lead Workshops help strengthen connections and build a sense of community.

The post Strengthening collaboration: Highlights from our ORCID Consortia Lead Workshop In Munich appeared first on ORCID.

After thorough review and discussion with the ORCID Board late last year, ORCID is happy to announce our endorsement of the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information as an institutional supporter. We are pleased to see how the declaration, a community-driven initiative with over 100 signatories and 40 supporters, highlights growing support for sustainable infrastructure for research information. As a community-governed non-profit research infrastructure provider, ORCID considers all opportunities for community commitments, including endorsements, through a framework established by our Board of Directors, by which we assess the call for commitment against several criteria, including whether or not the commitment conflicts with our founding principles, our values, or would jeopardize our non-profit status. 

A fundamental goal of ORCID is to connect researchers with their research in an open, equitable way that enables transparent generation of insights about not only researchers, but their institutions.

From a researcher’s perspective, ORCID allows them to claim credit for their work and contributions, no matter where they are or what their discipline. It also reduces the burden required to manage their careers as they reuse their profile data in a variety of scholarly workflows. 

As an open infrastructure organization, ORCID enables the sharing of researcher and research-related metadata within any FAIR-enabled infrastructure. This allows researcher and institutional evaluations to be based on open, transparent data engendering trust, strengthening the scholarly record, and ultimately helping to uphold research integrity. 

ORCID recognizes the Barcelona Declaration as an important framework by which scholarly systems can be integrated in a transparent way, while supporting all varieties of our members’ business models. We applaud the signatory organizations in their commitment to support the sustainability of infrastructures for open research information, and their endeavors toward increasing the openness and transparency of research assessment. In doing so, we reaffirm our commitment to our own vision and mission, and to the principles by which we were founded.

The post ORCID endorses the Barcelona Declaration appeared first on ORCID.

Today is International Data Privacy Day (or Data Protection Day if you’re in Europe) so we wanted to join in to help raise awareness of privacy and how it affects us all, and to let you know about some of our own recent developments in this area.

• Trust and transparency is a fundamental concern at ORCID. We explain how we use your data and about your data protection rights in our privacy policy, which was fully updated in 2024.
• We take steps to help you and your organization improve the accuracy of the personal data in ORCID records in a privacy-conscious way, for example through the recent addition of email domain Trust Markers.
• We also believe one of the best ways we can raise awareness of privacy is to talk about it with our ORCID community. We recently hosted a webinar on ORCID’s privacy policy and our approach to data protection in our Research Integrity webinar series. The recording is available for rewatch in our On Demand library and has been chaptered for reference.  

Finally, as a reminder, we put you in control of how your personal information appears in your ORCID record through our privacy settings. You can check and update these at any time.

As always, if you have any questions about ORCID and data privacy, please feel free to contact us at privacy@orcid.org.

The post ORCID Celebrates Data Privacy Day 2025 appeared first on ORCID.

We are pleased to share exciting news for the Nigerian research and academic community: the first ORCID consortium in Nigeria, led by Eko-Konnect, has officially launched with three member institutions. This marks a significant step forward for scholarly collaboration and visibility, as well as a testament to the power of ORCID’s Global Participation Fund (GPF) and Membership Equity Program.

Eko-Konnect: Pioneering research collaboration

Eko-Konnect, a trailblazing organization in advancing digital research infrastructure in Nigeria, is leading this consortium. With support from ORCID’s GPF, this initiative brings together academic and research institutions across Nigeria to streamline scholarly communication, foster collaboration, and enhance global research visibility.

The Nigerian ORCID consortium exemplifies the transformative impact of the GPF, a program designed to provide financial and strategic support for organizations in underrepresented regions to establish ORCID consortia. By leveraging the Membership Equity Program, Eko-Konnect and the other member institutions in the consortium—Covenant University and Landmark University—benefit from a more accessible path to ORCID membership, ensuring that resources are allocated where they’re needed most.

Why this matters for Nigerian researchers

The establishment of the Nigerian ORCID consortium creates opportunities for researchers and institutions to:

• Improve research discoverability: ORCID’s unique identifiers ensure that researchers’ contributions are accurately attributed, no matter where they’re published.
• Streamline research workflows: Members gain access to integrations that reduce administrative burdens and improve efficiency.
• Foster collaboration: A unified consortium provides a platform for Nigerian institutions to collaborate on shared goals and challenges in research management.

This consortium isn’t just a win for Nigeria, it’s a model for other countries seeking to enhance their academic infrastructure through collective action and global support.

Opportunities for interested organizations

As the Nigerian consortium demonstrates, it is possible to establish a new consortium with a small number of institutions. For Nigerian organizations, Eko-Konnect is actively welcoming new members to expand the reach and impact of this initiative. Joining the consortium offers a chance to be part of a growing network that’s shaping the future of Nigerian research. Nigerian organizations will have the opportunity to learn more about joining the consortium at the Eko Konnect Users Conference in Lagos, Nigeria, from 29–30 January, 2025.

Additionally, organizations worldwide that are inspired by this success story are encouraged to consider applying for the next cycle of the GPF. Applications will open in May 2025, offering a chance to access funding and support for establishing ORCID consortia in your region.

Join the movement—Be part of the change

The Nigerian ORCID consortium is a groundbreaking achievement, showcasing what’s possible when global resources meet local expertise and determination. Whether you’re a Nigerian institution looking to join the consortium or an organization elsewhere seeking support through the GPF, now is the time to take action.

Nigerian organizations, please get in touch to explore membership opportunities in the ORCID consortium. For others, mark your calendars for May 2025 to apply for the next GPF cycle and visit the Global Participation Fund page for FAQs and more information about the application process.

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