A Benchmarking Framework for the Australian National Persistent Identifier (PID) Strategy

In 2024, Australia launched its National Persistent Identifier (PID) Strategy to accelerate research quality, efficiency, and impact through the universal use of connected PIDs. To measure this progress, the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) commissioned Digital Science to develop a national benchmarking framework. This presentation shares key findings from the resulting Australian National PID Benchmarking Toolkit, which reveals a "mixed score card" for the nation's research ecosystem.While Australia demonstrates world-leading ORCID adoption for publications, significant gaps remain. Australian researchers trail their European peers in data citation practices , and PID use for non-traditional research outputs (NTROs) is lacking. We will discuss the report's 23 recommendations , including mandatory ORCID implementation, new dissertation policies, and treating institutions as publishers. Finally, we will introduce the open-source toolkit—comprising analysis and runnable code —as a scalable model for other nations to track their PID strategies.The Australian National Persistent Identifier (PID) Strategy was established to accelerate research quality, efficiency, and impact through the universal use of connected PIDs. To support the implementation of this vision, the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) commissioned Digital Science to create a comprehensive benchmarking toolkit.The resulting framework aligns with the strategy's five core objectives: enhancing the FAIRness of research inputs, increasing the discoverability of outputs, improving reproducibility while reducing administrative burden, enabling robust impact assessment, and supporting national capability mapping. This presentation will conver Australia's first national assessment using this toolkit, revealing a mixed score card for the research ecosystem.Notable SuccessesStrong ORCID Adoption: It was found that Australia ranks highly in global ORCID adoptionFunded Researcher Engagement: The ORCID adoption and completion rates for researchers funded by the ARC and NHMRC are among the best in the world.Thesis Practices: Several Australian institutions show strong global leadership in thesis deposits utilizing DOIs.Critical Gaps in the EcosystemData Citation Lag: Despite high general engagement, Australian researchers trail behind their European peers in data citation practices.Non-Traditional Outputs: Recording ORCID identifiers against non-traditional research outputs (NTROs) and datasets remains the exception rather than the norm.Disconnected Samples: While over 5.8 million IGSN samples have been registered in Australian repositories, they remain almost completely disconnected from the broader persistent identifier graph.Strategic Recommendations & Path ForwardTo address these gaps, the report outlines 23 targeted recommendations. During the presentation, we will highlight key recommended interventions, including:Mandating ORCIDs: Moving toward mandatory, authenticated ORCIDs on grants to facilitate the downstream creation of Research Activity Identifiers (RAIDs).Elevating Institutions as Publishers: Treating institutions as major publishers of NTROs, requiring them to adopt publisher-level PID standards for theses, datasets, and grey literature.Closing Connectivity Gaps: Triggering the creation of RAIDs immediately upon grant funding and establishing clear minimum standards to link samples to the broader PID graph.Beyond the findings, this presentation introduces the open-source benchmarking toolkit itself. Consisting of both in-depth analysis and runnable code, the toolkit provides a robust mechanism for tracking collective progress. We will reflect on how the community is currently developing these recommendations and demonstrate how other nations, funders, and consortia can adapt this open framework to measure and advance their own PID implementation strategies