By making available a unique 12 digit identifier for every researcher, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID, or ORCID, enables institutions and researchers to have their work tracked anywhere in the world.

Along with the new Source IP patents database, the initiative, launched last night, will also make it easier for Australian industry to search for relevant researcher expertise.

Australian research organisations – including 36 universities, the Heart Research Institute, CSIRO, the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council – last night announced they have joined forces in a consortium to adopt the global ORCID system.

ORCID provides a unique number to a researcher, enabling them to maintain a consolidated record of all their research activity throughout their career.

“This is a tremendously important initiative for researchers and for the nation,” said Universities Australia Chief Executive Belinda Robinson.

“By bringing together a researcher’s intellectual property – patents, research studies, publications and grants – into one place, regardless of where they’re employed or where they live, the visibility and profile of their work is greatly elevated.”

The Australian ORCID Consortium was launched last night at the Australian National University by Senator Zed Seselja, representing the Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham.

“Universities Australia has been heavily involved in the development of this initiative because we recognise the importance of maximising the impact of Australian research.

“Australia’s universities are seizing every opportunity to make their world-leading research and innovations more accessible to industry and the broader community, and adopting ORCID is a critical part of this effort,” Ms Robinson said.

The Australian Access Federation will provide support for Australian ORCID Consortium to maximise the benefits of ORCID in Australia (http://aaf.edu.au/orcid/).

The establishment of the consortium was facilitated by Universities Australia, the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australasian Research Management Society, the Council of Australian University Librarians, the Council of Australian University Directors of Information Technology, the Australian National Data Service and the Australian Access Federation.

ORCID (http://orcid.org/) is a global not-for-profit organisation created in 2010, which solves the problem of name ambiguity in research by creating a registry with a unique identifier for each researcher.