PIDfest, jointly organized by NTK and ARDC, was held from June 11 -13 in Prague. The event brought together persistent identifier (PID) advocates, users, and leaders from around the world to solve real-world infrastructure challenges to accelerate research and innovation. DataCite was well represented during the event with presentations by our staff, members and partners. Here’s a brief recap of the highlights from the program:
PIDs (and Collaboration!) to Advance Research
The conference started with a Keynote Panel on Why PIDs matter featuring Zefan Zheng, neuroscience researcher on the Implementing FAIR Workflows project, who shared with us what it is like to make all research outputs available with PIDs and rich metadata as part of the research process.
The second keynote PID providers: Delivering value to the research sector featured DataCite (represented by Helena Cousijn), the DOI Foundation, ORCID, RAiD and ROR (represented by Maria Gould) and outlined collaboration efforts to improve open research infrastructure.
In the workshop session RAiD: Bringing an Emerging PID to Global Production Helena Cousijn together with colleagues from ARDC provided an overview and short demonstration of RAiD, a persistent identifier (PID) dedicated to research projects and activities.
Xiaoli Chen explored the collaboration between CSTR and DataCite in the session Identification Workflows for Research and Practical Application, emphasizing the importance of integrating multiple identifiers to build a more robust and interconnected research infrastructure across the globe. This presentation showcased practical examples of how these collaborations improve visibility and interoperability.
During the unconference session Collaboration opportunities for PID Service Providers together with Josefine Nordling (CSC), we presented the ongoing work of the FAIR-IMPACT and FAIRCORE4EOSC projects to improve PID providers’ coordination in the European Open Science Cloud, and ensure compliance of the EOSC PID Policy.
Maria Gould and Addam Buttrick presented the ROR metadata curation model that combines open and community input while retaining all the benefits of centralized oversight.
Diverse Use Cases and Workflows of PID Implementation
In the session PIDs, FAIR and Open Science Xiaoli Chen and Helena Cousijn teamed up with colleagues from ARDC, EMBL-EBI and GESIS to discuss the importance of PID integration to implement the FAIR principles and open science frameworks. They provided examples from the Implementing FAIR Workflows Project to demonstrate how PIDs enhance research discoverability, interoperability, and reuse.
The panel discussion From Collection to Citation: The Diverse Actors and PIDs Needed for Comprehensive Material Sample Management presented the integral role of IGSN IDs in improving material sample workflows. The session highlighted the diverse range of stakeholders involved in this process and how PIDs like IGSN IDs can help streamline the management and traceability of samples.
The PIDs and GLAM panel session included Cody Ross in a lively discussion about the use of IGSN and other identifiers in the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) sector. The conversation covered the benefits and challenges of implementing PIDs in these diverse cultural heritage institutions.
Throughout the event, we received members at our Metadata Health Booth where Sara El-Gebali provided metadata check-ups and consultations. We are happy to continue to share these metadata insights with our members, so feel free to reach out to Sara with your metadata questions!
Inclusion and Equity
In the interactive session Let’s talk about PIDs together with Alice Meadows and Suze Kundu, Gabi Mejias discussed the importance of storytelling and the inclusion of all voices to advocate for PIDs. In breakout groups, participants discussed their stories and developed their own elevator PIDtches.
In the session Equitable access to PIDs we presented our Global Access Program as part of DataCite’s efforts to build a more inclusive PID ecosystem. The session included a presentation of one of our Global Access Fund awardees, Owen Iyoha (Eko-Konnect).
The session PIDs and Open Research Infrastructure explored how international collaborations between open source systems (DSpace, OJS and VIVO) with PID providers (DataCite and ORCID) have strengthened global PID uptake and the community of practice around them. Bianca Kramer presented the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information, its initial reactions across regions, and the role of PIDs in open scholarly infrastructure for research information.
It was truly inspiring to witness the tremendous interest and engagement from the community at PIDfest 2024. The diverse presentations and lively discussions highlighted the essential role PIDs play in advancing research, showcasing the significant progress made since the last PIDapalooza and the new challenges ahead. The call for hosts for the next edition of PIDfest is open and we encourage all those passionate about PIDs to step forward. Together, we can continue to foster collaboration to build a more robust and inclusive research infrastructure, one PID at a time.
