This post is authored by Paloma Marin Arraiza and Christian Gumpenberger
In January 2019, the TU Wien (represented by the TU Wien Bibliothek) and the University of Vienna (represented by the Vienna University Library) joined forces to lead the newly-formed ORCID Austria Consortium, which aims to increase the uptake and relevance of the ORCID iD as a unique identifier for researchers in Austria. Eleven member institutions, in the first instance, are joining the consortium, which is the result of several years of nationwide discussion, initiated by the Scientometrics Working Group of the University of Vienna in 2014, and enthusiastically supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), about the introduction of a person identifier in the Austrian research community. Starting in 2017, the government-funded project E-Infrastructures Austria Plus also promoted discussions between research libraries, research support, and IT departments to define the need for a consortium project.
One of the main aims of the ORCID Austria Consortium is to establish ORCID as the primary unique person identifier for researchers in the Austrian research ecosystem — not just another exchangeable and random identifier, but a sophisticated umbrella identifier solution to help researchers efficiently manage and link their research activities, and get credit for their contributions. Well-maintained ORCID records also simplify research assessment activities, making the evaluation process more reliable for institutions and researchers alike. We therefore encourage member and non-member institutions in Austria to highlight the advantages of ORCID, promote it among their researchers, and get involved in using the ORCID API to exchange information and help researchers manage their ORCID record.
As joint consortia lead organizations, TU Wien and the University of Vienna will engage with the community to encourage ORCID outreach and advocacy in Austrian institutions, and to foster open research activities and best practices for research data management. Backed up by ORCID staff where needed, our two institutions will provide ORCID Austria Consortium members with the basic support they need to successfully implement ORCID in their participating institutions, and to benefit from improved access to and integration with the ORCID Registry.
We are currently developing a joint statement of principles for the ORCID Austria Consortium. Outreach activities, such as workshops and webinars, are planned along 2019, including the launch event in Vienna, on June 13, 2019.
We will update you on our future progress. Questions are welcome at any time and can be addressed to [email protected] or [email protected]
ABOUT TU WIEN BIBLIOTHEK
The TU Wien Bibliothek, as the library of Austria’s most important tertiary educational institution in the natural and technical sciences, has a keen interest in open research and open access, and has implemented several supporting services. These include the foundation of a Center for Research Data Management, with a focus on persistent identifiers, and an active involvement in the creation of policies on open access and research data management to support the GO FAIR initiative. TU Wien Bibliothek has also hosted relevant conferences, such as Focus on Open Sciences series in 2018. Contact: [email protected]
ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA
The University of Vienna is one of the oldest and largest universities in Europe, and its library has been providing research support services, including bibliometrics, for many years. The university joined ORCID as an institutional member in June 2018, and has already implemented Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), Uniform Resource Names (URNs) and Handle-IDs as persistent identifiers in the university’s digital asset management system, PHAIDRA, as well as successfully rolling out and implementing ORCID in the university’s current research information system u:cris in late 2018. Contact: [email protected].