Strengthening collaboration: Highlights from our ORCID Consortia Lead Workshop In Munich

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.