The Who, What, and Where of Persistent Identifiers:
A six-part webinar series devoted to all things PID
March 3 to May 12, 2021
Brought to you by CRKN, CARL-Portage, and Research Data Canada

Starting the first week of March, and running every two weeks until mid-May, this series will provide a comprehensive look at persistent identifiers (PIDs) in Canada. The series will include Canadian and international speakers who will highlight the benefits and use cases for PIDs and cover established identifiers such as digital object identifiers (DOIs), researcher identifiers (ORCID iDs), as well as emerging identifiers, tools, and services. This will also be an opportunity to engage in discussion on a national PIDs strategy for Canada.
Series presenters will include researchers, librarians, administrators of PID systems, and international leaders in the PID ecosystem. Sessions will be recorded, and will be offered with simultaneous interpretation in order to accommodate francophone and anglophone attendees.
The full schedule is as follows (note that the descriptions and presenters will be available shortly)!
PIDs 101
Wednesday, March 3, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. ET (9:00 - 10:00 a.m. PT) | Host organization: RDCIn this session, attendees will learn the fundamentals of persistent identifiers (PIDs), including: 1) introduction to the new release of the RDC PIDs Document, which provides a detailed look at PIDs in the Canadian context; 2) an introduction to how PIDs work, types of PIDs in sample contexts, and the value/impact of PIDs; 3) the implementation of PIDs, with examples using DOIs, ORCID, and ROR implementations.
Speakers
Moderator: Mark Leggott, Research Data Canada
Eugene Barsky, UBC
Maude-Laplante Dubé, Université Laval
PIDs: What do Researchers Need to Know?
In this session, attendees will learn the fundamentals of persistent identifiers (PIDs) for sharing research and scholarship. Panelists will discuss their experiences with DOIs (digital object identifiers) and ORCID iDs, a persistent identifier for researchers—what they are used for, where they are typically used, when they are required, and why they are essential for trust and reproducibility in research.
Speakers
Moderator: Jeff Moon
Susan Brown, University of Guelph/NDRIO Researcher Council
Laura Estill, St. Francis Xavier University/NDRIO Researcher Council
Dylan Roskams-Edris, McGill University
Mike Smit, Dalhousie University
PIDs in Practice: National and International Perspectives
In this session, attendees will be introduced to the persistent identifier consortia that exist in Canada: the ORCID Canada Consortium and the DataCite Canada Consortium. This session will highlight the work being done to digitally connect People, Places, and Things associated with scholarship in Canada, and explore strategies that have been implemented in other countries as possible maps to guide Canadian PID policy moving forward.
Speakers
John Aspler, CRKN
Josh Brown, MoreBrains Consulting Cooperative
Masashi Hara: Japan Link Center
Natasha Simons, Australian Research Data Commons
Kelly Stathis, Portage
Object Identifiers: Use Cases for Librarians and Data Professionals
In this session, attendees will learn about the various types of persistent identifiers for objects, and the range of use cases for these PIDs. Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) are the best-known object identifiers, and are most often used for publications and datasets; however, they can also be used for a range of other objects created as part of the research process. Beyond the DOI, identifiers exist for research activity, repositories, physical samples, equipment, and more. This session will explore the evolving object identifier landscape and discuss strategies for incorporating object PIDs into a national implementation plan.
Speakers
Mark Leggott, Research Data Canada
Mike Nason, University of New Brunswick
PIDs for People and Places
In this session, attendees will be introduced to the persistent identifiers (PIDs) for people and places: ORCID iDs and the Research Organization Registry (ROR). ORCID, a researcher-centred non-profit with the aim of connecting scholars to their work across time, place, and discipline, has emerged as the primary open identifier for researchers globally. ROR is a community-led registry of identifiers for research organizations, with the aim of describing researcher affiliations—for example, an institution where a researcher is employed. This session will highlight use cases for ORCID iD and ROR, examine the relationships between these identifiers and other PIDs, and explore strategies for incorporating PIDs for people and places into a national implementation plan.
Speaker
Liz Krznarich, DataCite
What’s Next for PIDs in Canada?
Wednesday, May 12, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. ET (9:00 - 10:00 a.m. PT) | Host organization: CRKNIn 2020, CRKN continued the work of the ORCID-CA and partnered with CARL-Portage to administer the new DataCite Canada Consortium. With these two national PID consortia in place, members and stakeholders are looking to develop and implement a national PID strategy. In this session, attendees will revisit PIDs and their value, and explore the strategic goals and importance of a Canadian PIDs implementation plan. Panelists will explore the work of the Canadian Persistent Identifier Committee (CPIDAC) and a pilot project from Coalition Publica.
Speakers
Moderator: Talia Chung, uOttawa
Lisa Goddard, UVic
James MacGregor, Coalition Publica
Speakers and Bios (click here to expand)
Dedicated to service and knowledge access, John has experience working in research and public library contexts. He earned a BSc in neuroscience at McGill and will soon complete a PhD.
Eugene Barsky is the Head of Research Commons at UBC. Eugene is the past Chair of the Portage Data Discovery Expert Group, participates in building the Canadian Federated Research Data Repository service (FRDR), and collaborates with Research Data Canada (RDC) and the European Union (OpenAIRE). Eugene is the lead Principal Investigator for the national Geodisy project, previously funded by CANARIE, and now integrated with FRDR and funded by NDRIO. His recent peer-recognition included the Canadian Association of Research Libraries, American Society for Engineering Education, and Special Library Association awards. He published more than 25 peer-reviewed papers and presented at more than 65 conferences. Eugene is an adjunct professor at the iSchool at UBC, teaching the course in research data management, and is one of the founders of the Pacific Northwest data curators group.
Maude Laplante-Dubé holds an MLIS from Université de Montréal and has been working as a librarian at Université Laval since 2011 in various disciplines (political science, law, sociology, anthropology, and economics). Since 2015, she has been working as a scholarly communications librarian, coordinating the institutional repository, and implementing and supporting scholarly journals on the OJS platform. She also promotes ORCID iDs and teaches researchers how to use them. More recently, she joined a working group that is mandated to implement a communication and training strategy, whose purpose is to encourage Université Laval faculty to create and use an ORCID iD.
Mark Leggott is the Executive Director of Research Data Canada, and Manager for CANARIE’s research data management funding program. Mark is active nationally in a number of contexts, and also participates on the leadership teams for international organizations, and is a member of the ISO Technical Committee reviewing the RaID PID standard.