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ORCID Overview

ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is a global, community-built research infrastructure organization that provides persistent identifiers (ORCID iDs) to researchers for the benefit of being uniquely identified and reliably connected with their professional information. ORCID iDs are unique, open digital identifiers that are a powerful tool for name disambiguation. They connect back to an ORCID record, which can serve as a comprehensive record of a researcher's employment, education, qualifications, funding, distinctions, research outputs, and more. The data in ORCID records is interoperable and can easily be transferred between ORCID-enabled platforms like manuscript/research submission systems, repositories, and funding applications.

ORCID iDs also play an integral role in the research landscape by connecting researchers and their qualifications directly to their contributions. When available, publishers often include ORCID iDs in publication metadata, asserting these important connections.

ORCID Services Provided by DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI offers several ORCID-related services.

  • OSTI is the lead agency of the US Government ORCID Consortium, which brings together US government and DOE-affiliated organizations looking to use, adopt, and integrate with ORCID.
    • As the consortium lead, OSTI facilitates the consortium community of practice, which includes managing and hosting bimonthly community calls and creating resources and reference guides.
    • Recordings of past community calls and consortium resources can be found on the ORCID Community page. Please note that this content is only available to consortium members who have registered for an account on PIDs@OSTI.GOV and are signed in. If you have any questions or need assistance in signing up for an account, please email ORCIDConsortium@OSTI.GOV.
  • OSTI.GOV, DOE OSTI's primary search tool for DOE-funded R&D, has an ORCID integration that allows users to add research outputs quickly and easily to their ORCID record.

ORCID iD Registration

  • Anyone can sign up for an ORCID iD for free by visiting ORCID's website.
  • The registration process takes less than one minute and must be completed by the ORCID record holder.
  • First name, email address, password, visibility settings, and consent to terms of use are required. Last name and additional email addresses are optional.
  • If you enter an institutional email address, ORCID will automatically suggest an employment affiliation based on the email domain. If this affiliation is correct, you can add more information to it. If the information is not correct or if you'd prefer not to add an employment affiliation, you can choose to skip this step.
  • After completing registration, you will be assigned an ORCID iD and directed to your new ORCID record, where you can add information manually or connect your ORCID iD with system integrations that will allow trusted parties to add information to your ORCID record on your behalf.

Benefits of ORCID

ORCID iDs:

  • Uniquely identify a specific person and distinguish between people/researchers with the same name and in instances of name changes.
  • Reduce data entry burden and streamline processes for applications and reporting.
  • Act as a single identifier that can be used across a wide variety of research systems—e.g., grant applications, research information platforms and repositories, manuscript submission systems, and more.
  • Ensure that contributions are correctly identified, discoverable, and recognized.
  • Assist research institutions, funders, and publishers in analyzing contributions, return on investment, and research impact.

Contact: ORCIDconsortium@osti.gov