Digital Persistent Identifiers

DOE has developed policies to implement White House guidance and expectations for digital persistent identifiers (PIDs) for individuals:

For financial assistance related to R&D activities, as directed in Financial Assistance Letter No. FAL 2024-05:

• Individuals required to submit Biographical Sketch and Current and/or Pending (Other) Support disclosures must provide a PID in such disclosures as part of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) application. Included PIDs must meet the common/core standards specified in the NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance or successor guidance (e.g., an ORCID iD). The inclusion of an individual’s PID will be optional until May 1, 2025, and mandatory thereafter.
• Throughout the lifetime of the award, those individuals conducting research and development (R&D) under the award at the prime and subaward level must obtain and use a PID for themselves that meets the common/core standards specified in the NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance or successor guidance (e.g., an ORCID iD). 

DOE requires recipients of federal awards with R&D activities, or technical assistance that supports R&D activities, to use the PID when publishing R&D outputs (e.g., journal articles, data, etc.) when that is an available option. Individuals conducting R&D activities at the prime and subaward level must report their R&D outputs as outlined in the DOE F 4600.2, U.S. Department of Energy “Federal Assistance Reporting Checklist” (FARC). The PID for individuals must be provided when reporting R&D outputs to the Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information (DOE OSTI).

For federal and contractor employees, as directed by DOE O 241.1C:

• DOE federal and contractor employees conducting R&D work must obtain a PID for themselves that meets the common/core standards specified in the NSPM-33 Implementation Guidanceor successor guidance (e.g., an ORCID iD). The PID must be used by these employees in published research outputs when available and be provided to DOE OSTI with scientific and technical information metadata records.

There is currently only one PID service for individuals that meets those common/core standards – ORCID iDs. This guidance will be updated if additional providers of PIDs for individuals, that meet these requirements, become available.  

• An ORCID iD is a persistent identifier for individuals/researchers that allows people to distinguish themselves from others. 
• Individuals can connect their ORCID iDs with professional information (e.g., employment, education, professional activities, funding, and R&D outputs) creating an ORCID record similar to an online CV. 
• An ORCID iD can be used to share information with other systems, allow individuals to be uniquely identified, reduce administrative burden, ensure people get recognition for their contributions, and reduce the risk of information errors. 
• ORCID iDs help people and computers better identify individuals and their contributions. 
• See the PIDs for Individuals FAQs for more information.

The White House PID guidance directing DOE to develop these policies include:

• National Security Presidential Memorandum on United States Government-Supported Research and Development National Security Policy 33 (NSPM-33), released January 14, 2021. The policy instructs agencies to develop policies regarding requirements for participants of federally funded R&D, including individuals supported by financial assistance, to be registered with a service that provides a PID for that individual; and instructs agencies to standardize forms for initial disclosures, integrating digital persistent identifiers for individuals applying for grants and cooperative agreement funding.

• Guidance for Implementing NSPM-33 on National Security Strategy for United States Government-Supported Research and Development (NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance), released January 2022.  The guidance document describes how research agencies will incorporate PIDs into disclosure processes to bolster research security and integrity while reducing administrative burden and includes common/core standards that a PID service should meet to be included as an option for disclosure in Federal grant and cooperative agreement application processes.

• Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Memo Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research (OSTP Public Access Memo), released August 25, 2022. The OSTP Public Access Memo instructs agencies to collect and make publicly available metadata associated with scholarly publications and data resulting from federally funded research, including all authors and co-authors, referencing their digital persistent identifiers. It also directs agencies to instruct federally funded researchers to obtain a PID for themselves that meets the common/core standards of a PID service defined in NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance. Individuals are expected to include their PID in the metadata of published research outputs when available and provide their PID to agencies with the metadata associated with all published research outputs they produce.

• Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Policy Regarding Use of Common Disclosure Forms for the “Biographical Sketch” and the “Current and Pending (Other) Support” Sections of Applications by Federal Research Funding Agencies (Policy Regarding Use of Common Disclosure Forms), released February 14, 2024. The policy says federal research funding agencies should ensure that applicants using common disclosure forms include a PID that meets the requirements articulated in both the NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance and the OSTP Public Access Memo.

 Why do I need a PID for myself? 

• PIDs enable individuals to uniquely identify themselves. You will need a PID for yourself if you are part of an application for DOE funding or have received DOE funding. The requirement is to provide that PID within the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support forms when applying for financial assistance funding. If you receive funding, you’re required to use the PID within the research and development outputs you create and provide to DOE when reporting those outputs. 

What PID should I use? 

• A persistent identifier for individuals must meet the PID definition and the common/core standards that are specified in the NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance. 
• ORCID iDs are currently the only PID that meets the US Government definition of a persistent identifier and the common/core standards. 
• An ORCID iD is a persistent identifier for individuals/researchers that allows people to distinguish themselves from others. Individuals can connect their ORCID iDs with professional information (e.g., employment, education, professional activities, funding, and R&D outputs) creating an ORCID record similar to an online CV. An ORCID iD can be used to share information with other systems, allow individuals to be uniquely identified, reduce administrative burden, ensure people get recognition for their contributions, and reduce the risk of information errors. ORCID iDs help people and computers better identify individuals and their contributions. 

How long does it take to get a PID?

•  If should take less than 30 seconds to register for a PID for yourself. 

How do I use my PID? 

• An ORCID iD is connected to an ORCID record, which is similar to an online CV. An ORCID iD can be used to share information with other systems, allow individuals to be uniquely identified, reduce administrative burden, ensure people get recognition for their contributions, and reduce the risk of information errors. 
• With DOE, your PID should be provided in your Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support forms when applying for DOE financial assistance awards. If you’ve received DOE funding or are a DOE federal or contractor employee conducting R&D, you should use your PID when reporting R&D outputs to DOE OSTI. Where does my PID need to be included in DOE funding applications? 
• The PIDs should be included in the Biographical Sketches and Current and Pending (Other) Support forms. Beginning May 1, 2025, the inclusion of an individual’s PID will be mandatory in those forms. 

How do I use my PID if I receive DOE funding? 

• Once you receive DOE funding, you must use your PID when publishing R&D outputs when that is an available option. Individuals conducting R&D activities at the prime and subaward level must report their R&D outputs as outlined in the DOE F 4600.2, U.S. Department of Energy “Federal Assistance Reporting Checklist” (FARC). The PID for individuals must be provided when reporting R&D outputs to the Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information (DOE OSTI). 
• If you are a federal or contractor employee conducting R&D your PID must be used in published research outputs when available and be provided to DOE OSTI with scientific and technical information metadata records. 

The Award Term says I need “to use the PID when publishing R&D outputs when that is an available option”. What does that mean? 

• This means that when the publisher (e.g., a journal publisher, data repository, software repository, etc.) accepts PIDs/ORCID iDs with author information they are collecting, you must provide your PID to that system.