Under ORCID’s new Regional Consortia program, launched in June 2023 with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Regional Consortium led by Consortia in Colombia, organizations from multiple countries are now able to join ORCID under one regional umbrella.
After eight years since the first consortium formed in 2015, the Regional Consortia program was established to enable adoption of ORCID in regions where there may be insufficient capacity or too few organizations to support a national consortium.
The need for enhancing the Consortia Program was first and foremost evident in the Latin American community, and the positive impact on global participation was quickly observed. Enabling and working with Communities of Practice has always been central to ORCID activities around consortia. The Regional Consortia program builds on top of that to support ORCID adoption around the world to robust research infrastructure and uphold research integrity, particularly in areas that have been underrepresented so far.
“Thanks to local experience, not only adopting ORCID but also integrating it into digital ecosystems, we saw that this initiative could transform an entire region (Latin America and the Caribbean),” said Paula Saavedra, Project Director at Consortia S.A.S. “It wasn’t simply about encouraging the use of a technological platform and interconnecting it; we also had in mind building bridges between institutions and breaking down barriers that had traditionally kept our academic communities isolated.”
LAC leads the way with the first regional consortium
The LAC Regional Consortium is led by Consortia, a Colombian twelve-year-old organization with a main objective of improving access to information and high-quality digital scientific tools for university libraries, students, researchers, and other contributors in Latin America. ORCID and Consortia started a strong collaboration in 2021, when the second became the Colombian consortium lead organization. At the time, they covered 61 organizations at a national level. Currently, the consortium has grown to 96 member institutions represented in eight countries (Colombia, Perú, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panamá, Mexico, Ecuador, and Bolivia).
ORCID-LAC‘s main objective is the adoption, integration, and implementation of ORCID as a standard for normalizing information on Latin American and Caribbean authors in the scientific field, thus providing a series of benefits for researchers and institutions that are part of the Consortium. Consortia promotes the adoption of ORCID to ensure the correct identification and attribution of researchers’ contributions in Latin America and the Caribbean. Adopting these standards not only facilitates interoperability and information exchange between institutions, but also strengthens the digital presence and academic recognition of researchers by creating a regional community of practice.
Apart from becoming the first regional consortium lead, Consortia has accomplished several milestones in the past two years. They’ve consolidated a strong community of practice in the LAC region and accelerated ORCID adoption.
They’ve grown the number of integrations to 133 , built mainly in Open Journal System (OJS), for manuscript submission systems, and DSpace, for repository systems.
Another great milestone was their website update. This development was a significant step towards their goal of providing accessible resources and tools for both researchers and institutions throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. One of the most notable features of the new website is the interactive map that shows the 96 institutions that are currently part of the ORCID–LAC Consortium. This map allows a clear and dynamic visualization of the presence and reach of ORCID in the region, facilitating the identification and connection with the participating institutions.
Next Steps for LAC
Saavedra envisions the ORCID-LAC Regional Consortium as a “fully interconnected regional ecosystem, where Latin American scientific production flows unhindered between institutions, countries, and continents.”
She highlights that LAC’s next steps include:
- Adding more institutions to the consortium, especially from countries that have not yet joined.
- Deepening integration with national science and technology systems.
- Developing more training tailored to different levels of institutional maturity, and
- Creating communities of practice that share experiences and solutions.
Saavedra said that data normalization may sound like a technical issue, but it represents the democratization of academic recognition and the building of digital bridges that transcend borders. “ORCID-LAC is more than a consortium; it is our Latin American contribution to building a more connected, visible, and equitable science,” she said.
Interested in forming a regional consortia?
Regional Consortium must meet the following conditions:
- The consortium lead may be based in any country, regardless of its World Bank classification, as long as the members are higher education institutes, non-profit organizations, or government research and funding agencies from countries that include Low-, Lower-Middle, and Upper-Middle income countries.
- Within a Regional Consortium, a maximum of 85% of the consortium members may be based in a single country.
- A Regional Consortium needs to include organizations from a minimum of three countries from within the defined region.
- A Regional Consortium should consist of at least five members during the initial formation year, and no less than 10 members from the second year onwards.
- Organizations in a geographical area subject to the sovereignty, control, or jurisdiction of a different state may choose the consortium option that aligns best with their strategy (e.g. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or French Overseas Territories.)
- In the event of changes to the consortium that result in not adhering to any of the above points, there will be a one-year grace period to meet the requirements again.
Organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean that would like to be a part of LAC are invited to join Consortia to, according to Saavedra, “transform the way academic digital identity is managed and, of course, support the visibility and impact of Latin American science worldwide.”
ORCID believes in breaking down barriers to open infrastructure, and our Regional Consortia approach is designed to do exactly that. If your region meets the minimum criteria for starting a regional consortia, we invite you to contact us.
Contributor
Paula Saavedra
Project Director at Consortia SAS
Paula leads the loyalty processes with consortium members and is also responsible for technology project management and the management and administration of the ORCID-LAC Consortium. Her main focus is promoting the integration and use of the consortium’s memberships and platforms. This year, she is also participating as Co-Chair to assist with proposals for virtual Consortia Interest Group (CIG) meetings and activities arising from CIG discussions. At Consortia, she supports consortium member institutions in strengthening their research capabilities, accessing high-quality resources, and using persistent identifiers.
