Portugal is a leader in the adoption of ORCID

The efficient management of scientific information is one of the greatest challenges facing modern science. Portugal has achieved a leadership position in this transformation process with an innovative strategy and a strong investment in interoperability through PTCRIS: an integrated ecosystem of information on national scientific activity.

The first step was, in 2013, the adoption of ORCID by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) as a unique identifier for researchers, which made it possible to reduce the bureaucratic burden and simultaneously ensure greater reliability and accessibility to science data.

The introduction of ORCID The evaluation process for Research and Development Units (RDUs) was one of the main drivers of this transition, as it encouraged researchers to register and keep their profiles up to date. This measure strengthened the visibility and traceability of scientific activities and facilitated the management and monitoring of academic output.

The next step was to integrate the ORCID on the national platform for scientific curricula CIÊNCIAVITAE através da sincronização via Framework de sincronização que permite automatizar a troca de informações curriculares (PTCRISync). Esta sinergia consolidou a utilização do identificador único em Portugal e resultou num crescimento expressivo da adesão: até 2019, cerca de 67% dos investigadores portugueses possuíam um ORCID with a high level of completeness in the profiles, placing the country among the pioneers in integrating this system into the international scientific ecosystem.

Estimated adoption and engagement with the ORCID by country. Researchers active in the analysis must (A) have published between 2015 and 2019, (B) have a publication history of more than 5 years, and (C) have published more than 5 articles. Source: Measuring Research Information Citizenship Across ORCID Practice, Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics, 7, 779097 – March 2022. https://doi.org/10.3389/frma.2022.779097

In the following years, membership maintained a growing pace. Between 2020 and 2024, the percentage of Portuguese researchers with ORCID The number of complete profiles rose to approximately 80%, consolidating the country's position as a leader in the implementation of this identifier. However, profile completeness registered a slight decrease, resulting from the introduction of new functionalities in the system. ORCID that are not yet synchronized with the CIÊNCIAVITAE.

Despite this challenge, the FCT maintains a prominent role in promoting and adopting unique identifiers, ensuring that Portugal continues to lead globally in their use. ORCID by funded researchers. This commitment is essential to ensure the unequivocal link between authors, funding, projects, and scientific outputs, promoting more transparent and efficient science.

Estimated adoption and engagement with the ORCID by funded researchers with more than 5 years of publication history and publications between 2015 and 2019. The sizes indicate the number of researchers per funder, with the shapes representing different regions of the world. To facilitate reading the funder names, the axes do not start at zero. Source: Measuring Research Information Citizenship Across ORCID Practice, Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics, 7, 779097 – March 2022. https://doi.org/10.3389/frma.2022.779097

And through PTCRIS It is possible to consolidate a national scientific ecosystem where information flows in an integrated and accessible way, connecting researchers, institutions, and knowledge.