We recognize that as a community-driven organization, our Members make use of various platforms or systems to help them manage their DOI workflow. Many of our Members make use of repository platforms, CRIS systems or other services. In order to better serve our Members, it is critical for us to have a close relationship with these Service Providers to ensure best practice adoption, better understand the needs of our Members, and support the workflows adopted by our Members.
DataCite Registered Service Providers Program
Today, we’re announcing the launch of the DataCite Registered Service Providers program. A DataCite Registered Service Provider is an organization that has integrated with one of the DataCite APIs in order to allow existing DataCite Members to register DOIs using that Member’s own log-in credentials. This program allows DataCite to improve communication between ourselves, our Members, and Service Providers such as repository platforms and CRIS systems. We want to provide guidance and best practices to the Service Providers that integrate with our APIs and to establish a consistent communication channel to hear from Service Providers about how we can address our Members’ needs together.
Developing the program
We developed the Registered Service Providers program over the last several months based on feedback from a focus group made up of several Service Providers. We would like to thank all service providers that participated for their enthusiasm and valuable input!
What does this mean for DataCite Members?
DataCite Members will now be able to easily review the Registered Service Providers within the program and understand those Service Providers’ commitment to following best practices. If you are working with a Registered Service Provider, DataCite will know more about their integration and will be better able to support you if you have questions. If your Service Provider is not listed, please feel free to contact them and tell them about the program.
It is important to note that organizations that supply DOIs and prefixes as part of their service offering do not qualify as Service Providers under our current definition. Only Service Providers that provide functionality that enables Members to register DOIs are eligible for inclusion in the program. Service Providers should also not be confused with what we previously called ‘Providers’. Organizations that provide other organizations with DOI services including supplying DOIs are Consortium Leads.
How to register as a Service Provider
In order to become a Registered Service Provider, organizations must have an integration with a DataCite API and must meet a set of requirements which includes agreeing to uphold a set of best practices for the handling of DOIs and their metadata. We’ll list the Registered Service Providers on a special page, so that our Members can be confident they’ll get a consistent experience. Registered Service Providers will display a badge on their page so that their potential clients know that they are a registered DataCite Service Provider.
If you are a Service Provider interested in the program, you can apply here or email us at support@datacite.org for more information.
Robin Dasler
