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You are here: Home / Funders Supporting ORCID Integrations: Open Letter

Funders Supporting ORCID Integrations: Open Letter

Researchers, research institutions, publishers, and funding bodies routinely face the problem of accurately linking research publications, data, and other research activities to the right researcher. A unique persistent identifier resolves problems of name ambiguity in search and discovery and can ensure that funding, activities, and outputs are correctly and unambiguously attributed to the right person. ORCID solves this long-standing problem by providing a persistent digital identifier (ORCID iD) that distinguishes each researcher.

Identifiers are a basis for digital data governance: they enable machine readability, disambiguate and enforce uniqueness, and enable accurate attribution and data integration. Unique digital identifiers allow information to be easily shared across different systems and datasets.

Unlike names, which can change and come in various forms, an ORCID iD is a persistent identifier. An ORCID iD can be connected with systems that contain information about an individual’s research activities, including funding they have received and outputs created. The connection of an ORCID iD to these activities makes sure they are attributed to the right people and aids the discovery process. Digital identifiers improve data quality and increase trust in the accuracy of the research information in the public domain.

Funding bodies are in a unique position to provide incentives to researchers to adopt ORCID iDs and to deliver system wide benefits. A handful of funding bodies around the world require the submission of ORCID iDs to apply for funding and others support ORCID in their systems without such a mandate.

We recognize that funding bodies collectively could do more to support the ORCID initiative. This open letter, now closed to new signatories, shows a public commitment to ORCID. It supports and complements the ORCID open letter by publishers which was first signed in January 2016.

As funders, ORCID brings us the following benefits:

  • Improves data quality for the management of funds and tracking of research performance
  • Increases efficiency of data collection for application and reporting purposes
  • Enables reuse and exchange of data throughout the entire life cycle of a research grant
  • Lowers administrative costs for both funding bodies and researchers
  • Facilitates analysis across funding mechanisms, funding bodies, and national borders, as funding sources can be more easily tagged to specific researchers and their activities and outputs
  • Can make it easier to connect grants to outputs during the publication process

In consultation with the funder community, ORCID developed a set of best practice guidelines detailing what Authenticating, Displaying, Connecting, Collecting, and Synchronizing iDs mean for funding bodies. 

Signatories

We, the following funding bodies, commit to implementing ORCID iDs in accordance with their best practice guidelines for funders. We hope that our action inspires the community, including researchers, scholars, scientists, and research institutions, as well as other funding bodies, to join us in adopting ORCID.

Organization NameDate Signed Signatory Name
1. Austrian Science Fund (FWF)December 6, 2018  green orcid id logo Klement Tockner  President
2. National Research Foundation (South Africa)   December 6, 2018    green orcid id logo Gerhard Moolman  Manager: Information and Analysis 
3. Howard Hughes Medical InstituteDecember 6, 2018  green orcid id logo Bodo Stern  Chief Development & Strategy Officer
4. Wellcome TrustDecember 6, 2018 green orcid id logo Robert Kiley  Head of Open Research  
5. Research Council of NorwayDecember 6, 2018green orcid id logo John-Arne Røttingen  Chief Executive  
6. CAPESDecember 6, 2018green orcid id logo Concepta McManus  Director of International Affairs  
7. The Royal SocietyDecember 6, 2018green orcid id logo Alexander Thomson  Head of Grants Operations  
8. UK Research and InnovationDecember 6, 2018green orcid id logo  Mark Walport  Chief Executive  
9. Swiss National Science FoundationDecember 6, 2018green orcid id logo  Michael Hill  Deputy Head of Strategy Support  
10. GuaanaDecember 18, 2018green orcid id logo  Ain Kuuseok  Co-Founder & Product Lead  
11. The Dunhill Medical TrustJanuary 18, 2019green orcid id logo  Sarah Allport  Director of Grants and Research   
12. Science Foundation IrelandFebruary 13, 2020green orcid id logo Ciaran Seoighe Deputy Director General
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