XploreOpen is a Pakistan-based non-profit initiative dedicated to advancing equitable access to knowledge through open science, open infrastructure, and open cultural heritage. Established to challenge the traditional imbalance between the Global North and Global South in the production and sharing of knowledge, XploreOpen works to empower researchers, institutions, and cultural organizations by promoting open, collaborative, and multilingual practices. Our mission spans five interconnected areas: open science, open infrastructure, open research, scholarly communication, and open culture, enabling communities to publish, preserve, and share their work using global standards and open licenses.
With support from the DataCite Global Access Fund (GAF), we have launched the Pakistan Open Infrastructure Outreach Initiative (POIOI) to address critical gaps in Pakistan’s research ecosystem. Many universities and research organizations currently lack the capacity, technical skills, and awareness needed to implement persistent identifiers (PIDs), open metadata practices, and data-sharing workflows. As a result, Pakistani research often remains invisible or disconnected from global scholarly infrastructures.
POIOI aims to change this by offering targeted training, outreach events, and hands-on support to help institutions adopt DataCite DOIs, integrate open infrastructure into their systems, and join the growing DataCite Consortium of Pakistan. Our objectives include building institutional capacity, improving research visibility, strengthening metadata practices, and fostering a national community of practice dedicated to open science.
We applied for GAF because it aligns directly with our mission to democratize knowledge, build sustainable research infrastructure, and ensure that contributions from Pakistan and the wider Global South are visible, accessible, and valued within the global scholarly landscape.
Pakistan Open Infrastructure Outreach Initiative (POIOI)
In 2025, XploreOpen advanced Pakistan’s national open science agenda through the POIOI, supported by the DataCite Global Access Fund. The project aimed to strengthen national capacity for PIDs, DataCite DOI adoption, metadata quality, and repository development across public and private universities. Through coordinated outreach, training programs, research activities, and policy-level engagement, XploreOpen significantly accelerated the country’s transition toward a globally connected open research infrastructure.
The year began with a landmark National Editors Training Workshop hosted by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) at NED University in April 2025. Led by Dr. Muhammad Imtiaz Subhani and Amber Osman, the workshop trained more than 100 journal editors from over 40 universities. Participants explored the uniqueness of DataCite DOIs, their role in FAIR-aligned metadata practices, and their importance in building transparent and interoperable research environments. This national-scale session was instrumental in building foundational awareness of PIDs and scholarly infrastructure.
To assess institutional readiness for DOI adoption, XploreOpen conducted a nationwide survey between April and May 2025, collecting responses from more than 200 editors. The survey revealed strong interest in DataCite but highlighted major capacity gaps, including limited repository infrastructure, inadequate metadata knowledge, and low PID literacy. These findings guide XploreOpen’s long-term strategy for training and outreach and inform upcoming capacity-building initiatives.
In May 2025, XploreOpen conducted a hands-on workshop at NED University’s City Campus focused on DataCite PIDs and metadata workflows. Participants learned about data citation practices, DOI integration, and how institutions can align their systems with global Open Science standards. This workshop strengthened the technical readiness of universities preparing to develop or upgrade their research repositories.
Building on survey insights, XploreOpen’s co-founders began authoring a working paper analyzing DataCite awareness and the state of open infrastructure within Pakistan’s research ecosystem. The paper will be published soon and intends to provide baseline benchmarking, policy recommendations, and an evidence base for future training and national-level PID strategies.
A significant policy engagement highlight was the national panel discussion held on 30 September 2025, titled “Connecting Pakistan’s Research with Global PID Infrastructure.” Featuring representatives from DataCite, PASTIC (Ministry of Science & Technology), and XploreOpen, the session explored strategies for integrating PIDs into national research workflows, improving metadata quality, and establishing a coordinated PID ecosystem in Pakistan.XploreOpen further expanded its outreach through Open Access Week 2025 celebrations at the University of Management & Technology (UMT) Lahore. The two-day conference brought international and national experts together to discuss Open Access, metadata standards, DataCite DOIs, open citations, and FAIR-aligned research practices. The event strengthened national dialogue on research visibility, open infrastructure, and scholarly integrity.
A milestone achievement of POIOI in 2025 was the announcement of the DataCite Consortium of Pakistan (The consortium is in the process of being established), led by XploreOpen in partnership with PASTIC and UMT. The consortium aims to deliver cost-effective national access to DataCite services, unify DOI management, and enhance repository and metadata infrastructure across Pakistan’s academic sector. This marks a transformative step toward a sustainable and coordinated national research ecosystem.
Despite challenges such as low PID literacy, limited technical capacity, and a lack of institutional policies, XploreOpen addressed them through targeted workshops, training materials, consultations, and national-level dialogues. Integrating DataCite DOIs significantly enhanced project outcomes by improving metadata quality, discoverability, interoperability, and alignment with FAIR principles. Through POIOI, XploreOpen has laid critical groundwork for Pakistan’s transition to a modern, transparent, and globally connected research infrastructure, with DataCite DOIs at its core.
Transforming the Research Ecosystem
Throughout 2025, POIOI, XploreOpen observed both the immense potential and the significant challenges facing Pakistan’s transition toward a modern, interoperable research ecosystem. While interest in DataCite services and PIDs is rapidly growing, many institutions still struggle with limited technical capacity, low metadata literacy, and the absence of standardized policies for repository development and DOI management. These gaps underscore the need for sustained national-level training, infrastructure support, and policy alignment.
At the same time, the opportunities are transformative. The strong engagement from universities, government bodies, and national stakeholders in workshops, surveys, consultations, and panel discussions demonstrates a clear appetite for strengthening open research practices. The launch of the DataCite Consortium of Pakistan represents a major step toward cost-effective, unified DOI services and long-term sustainability.
Towards Establishing the DataCite Consortium in Pakistan
Looking ahead, XploreOpen envisions deepening its partnership with DataCite to expand PID literacy, improve metadata standards, and support institutions in integrating DOI workflows into their research systems. That’s why XploreOpen is in active discussions with PASTIC to jointly establish the DataCite Consortium in Pakistan. The DataCite consortium model offers a sustainable and cost-effective pathway for research institutions across the country to join DataCite and register DOIs for more than 30 types of research outputs, resources, and activities. We are currently setting up the administrative and financial framework for the consortium and aim to launch it by early 2026. Through this effort, we intend to remain an active contributor to the global DataCite community, promote open and FAIR-aligned scholarly communication, enable open science at a national level, and ensure that Pakistan’s research outputs are globally visible, discoverable, and reusable.
Prof. Dr Muhammad Imtiaz Subhani
Amber Osman
