Report on Metadata & PID Workflows: Integration of Persistent Identifiers into ELN and DMP Tools for NFDI

This report documents the PID Coordination Hub's coordinated effort to integrate persistent identifiers (PIDs) into the research data lifecycle through data management plans (DMPs) and electronic lab notebooks (ELNs). During 2025, the endeavor included establishing two focus groups. Each group held three virtual meetings from spring through summer, culminating in a joint in-person workshop in Berlin in September 2025. The report summarizes findings on metadata workflows, PID integration pathways, and technical interoperability requirements. These findings establish a foundation for two incubator projects that will launch in 2026 in collaboration with TS4NFDI. The projects aim to operationalize the DataCite metadata schema as a canonical reference model within the NFDI and demonstrate how capturing high-quality, standards-aligned metadata early on can enable seamless PID workflows across the research data lifecycle.