Editorial: Advancing a more open and inclusive research infrastructure

Advancing a more open and inclusive research infrastructure: In an increasingly global and interconnected research landscape, where the gears of scientific production are in a constant state of motion, keeping track of and contextualizing research can be challenging. 

In the last decade, the Open Science paradigm has emerged to foster more transparent and collaborative research , seeking to accelerate scientific progress for the common good. As stated in the recent UNESCO recommendation on Open Science, a cornerstone of the successful implementation of Open Science lies in investing in open scientific infrastructure and services. 

At the heart of this infrastructure are Persistent Identifiers (PIDs), considered as the “building blocks” of the research landscape. PIDs play a crucial role in identifying and connecting researchers, institutions and their outputs.  

In a robust research ecosystem, knowledge-sharing and collaboration thrive on the seamless and interoperable exchange of information. PIDs, such as Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) for datasets, software, preprints and beyond, play a vital role in ensuring access, discoverability, and reusability of research. DOIs provide a lasting trail, mitigating issues like broken links and ensuring the perpetual findability of scholarly resources. 

Additionally, PIDs enable linking between researchers and contributors, their organizations, and outputs/resources. By facilitating these linkages, PIDs promote a culture of research reproducibility and sharing. As researchers increasingly rely on the work of others, PIDs play a pivotal role in attributing data usage to its creators, ensuring proper recognition. Embracing PIDs also contributes to fostering the implementation of the FAIR principles — emphasizing that research data and other entities within the research lifecycle should be made Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.  

One organization that champions this cause is DataCite, a non-profit founded by the research community itself in 2009. It endeavours to ensure that research outputs and resources are openly available and interconnected, enabling their reuse to advance knowledge across disciplines. By enabling the creation and management of PIDs, integrating services to streamline research workflows, and facilitating the discovery and reuse of research outputs, DataCite stands as a beacon in responding to the call for a more open and collaborative research landscape.