Speaker
Description
The Australian National Persistent Identifier (PID) Strategy is a critical national initiative that aims to accelerate Australian research quality, efficiency and impact through universal use of connected persistent identifiers. It supports a vision where researchers, institutions, and infrastructures are connected through a universal, trusted, and interoperable system of PIDs. This strategy promotes better discovery and reuse of research inputs and outputs, improved reproducibility and attribution, and more effective national planning. To realise the vision requires shared action and accountability across the research ecosystem stakeholders.
To support implementation of this vision, Digital Science, in collaboration with the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC), has been commissioned to create a benchmarking toolkit. This toolkit is designed to help the Australian research ecosystem assess their progress toward PID adoption using measurable, SMART benchmarks (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) aligned to the strategy’s five objectives. It enables stakeholders to understand national maturity in using PIDs for entities such as researchers, projects, grants, facilities, and outputs. The toolkit contextualizes local efforts within a broader national and global infrastructure, fostering alignment and targeted improvement.
Each benchmark approach aligns with one of the five strategic objectives: (1) enhancing the FAIRness of research inputs; (2) increasing the discoverability and reuse of research outputs; (3) improving reproducibility and reducing administrative burden; (4) enabling robust impact assessment through linked metadata; and (5) supporting national capability mapping through PID integration. Together, these benchmarks provide a comprehensive structure for evaluation, planning and improvement..
Ultimately, this benchmarking toolkit provides a mechanism for tracking collective progress, informing stakeholder action plans, and ensuring that Australia’s investment in digital research infrastructure delivers measurable and sustainable benefits.
