Revised cost-benefit analysis for the UK PID Support Network

Persistent identifiers (PIDs) are unique digital codes associated with an entity (such as a person, publication, or organisation) and linked to descriptive information about that entity (metadata). They are a critical component of the UK and global research infrastructure.

In 2021, the MoreBrains Cooperative published a cost benefit analysis for sector-wide PID adoption in the UK, which included a proposal to set up a national PID Support Network (PSN). The PSN was further supported by a case for investment, which found that the PSN would save researchers and administrators many thousands of days of work per year that could then be better spent engaged in impactful research.

Since the original report, creation of the PSN has been endorsed by a UK government commissioned independent review of research bureaucracy, led by Professor Adam Tickell in 2022.

The Review endorses the proposal for a PID consortium made by MoreBrains in their report: 'The case for investment in a UK persistent identifier strategy: Resilience, insight, and leadership in global research and innovation' and would recommend extending this model to other facets of digital research platforms as appropriate.

This update to our original 2021 cost benefit analysis includes a number of methodological improvements.