The Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) is seeking applications for the Global Participation Fund to remedy gaps in ORCID participation from organizations in the Global South, especially in countries with low- and lower-middle-income economies.

Universal uptake of ORCID is inherent in the mission to enable transparent and trustworthy connections between researchers, their contributions, and their affiliations wherever they are. The current member organizations emphasize the importance of ORCID’s adoption universally around the world, however, although individual researchers in nearly every country have registered for ORCID iDs, organizational membership is lacking in much of the Global South.

ORCID aim is to provide funds to: foster the development of ORCID Communities of Practice, working with local partners who can build understanding and use of ORCID in local contexts; and create and enhance technical integrations to support the realization of the benefits provided by the use of ORCID. Proposing organizations do not need to be current ORCID members.

GPF Goals

• The ORCID Global Participation Fund (GPF) was established in 2022 with the kind support of several of ORCID’s founding sponsors, and was designed to provide grants to further ORCID’s public charitable purpose under its US 501(c)(3) non-profit designation:
  • promoting accuracy and integrity, and furthering collaboration in scientific research and scholarship
  • generally supporting and enhancing scholarship and the scientific process by
    • working to solve the author/contributor misidentification problem in scholarly research and communication
    • creation of a central registry of iDs assigned to individual researchers and linked to researcher outputs
    • engaging in other related activities to enhance and increase scholarly research and scientific discovery in the public interest

Types of Grants

• Initially they will be offering two grant programs via the GPF to achieve the goals. These grant programs are:
  • Grants for Community Development and Outreach
    • These grants are intended to:
      • Financially support local partners to build ORCID Communities of Practice in the Focus Communities
      • Support local outreach, training, and tech support resources for the creation and growth of ORCID consortia that serve organizations in the Focus Communities
  • Grants for Technical Integration
    • These grants are intended to:
      • Fund software development to build and update ORCID integrations in open-source systems that are likely to support and encourage participation by those in the Focus Communities. Integrations should be in line with the best practice guidelines
      • Support the creation and improvement of open-source components, libraries, or resources that will enable or facilitate ORCID participation for those in the Focus Communities
      • Support the creation of technical documentation, outreach, and support for resources created through this Grant Program

Funding Information

• The number and size of grants are largely dependent on the Fund’s size. During the 2022–23 Fund year, they expect to award 10 grants of US$5,000–20,000 each. The first tranche of grants will be awarded in November 2022; and a further tranche will be awarded around May 2023.

Grant Duration

• The duration for all grants will be one year. If grantees complete funded work before the end of the year, they may submit their final report to receive the final grant payment. If a grantee needs more time to complete the proposed work, extensions may be granted at ORCID’s discretion.

Benefits to Awarded Grantees

• In addition to the financial support provided through the grant, ORCID also provides grantees the following optional benefits to encourage peer sharing and mentorship:
  • Dedicated ORCID staff contact
  • Invitation to participate in the ORCID grantee forum and community
  • Invitations to grantee community events and forums
  • Invitations to ORCID virtual and (if applicable) in-person events
  • Inclusion and highlights of granted programs within ORCID’s ongoing communications program when appropriate.

Eligibility Criteria

• The GPF is designed to develop ORCID Communities of Practice in low- and lower-middle-income economies, as designated by the World Bank, particularly in the Global South where ORCID participation to date has been low (the Focus Communities.) All aspects of the GPF and its grant programs are designed to benefit those in this region. If your organization is either from one of these countries, or the grant will benefit research infrastructure in one of the countries, they encourage you to apply.
• GPF grants can be awarded to any non-profit organization, NGOs, or government entity, whether they are a current ORCID member or not.

For more information, visit ORCID.

Deadline: 3-Nov-23