By integrating a Research Organisation Registry identifier, also known as a ROR-ID, into the NWOpen API, NWO takes the next step to make the research it funds even more accessible and transparent: with this update, organization information related to NWO projects is now even better findable worldwide and easy to link.
What is ROR-ID?
ROR-ID is a unique, permanent identifier for research institutions such as universities, research institutes, and university medical centers. Just as a DOI refers to a publication and an ORCID iD to a researcher, the ROR-ID uniquely identifies an organization. In practice, organizations are often mentioned in different ways. Think of ‘UvA’, ‘Universiteit van Amsterdam’, or ‘University of Amsterdam’, which can cause confusion in databases. Through a ROR-ID, this issue is resolved, allowing research results to be automatically linked to the correct institution regardless of how the name is written.
API
The NWOpen API provides knowledge institutions, researchers, policymakers, and developers access to information about research projects funded by NWO and their outcomes. The API makes it possible to search, analyze, and link this information to other datasets. In the latest update of the NWOpen API, ROR-IDs have now also been included as part of NWO’s Persistent Identifier (PID) strategy established in 2021. Besides ROR-IDs for organizations, NWO also uses Grant IDs (DOIs) for projects. The aim is to eventually implement ORCID IDs for researchers as well.
The implementation of ROR-IDs aligns with our commitment to open science, said Hans de Jonge on behalf of NWO: It increases transparency and helps researchers, policymakers, and knowledge institutions to find and analyze Dutch research projects and their results more easily.
Open research information
This development fits within NWOs broader efforts for open research information. In April 2024, NWO and ZonMw signed the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information, in which both organizations commit to making openness the starting point for all research information they use and produce. The declaration calls for collaboration to make research information freely accessible via open infrastructure, instead of behind paywalls at commercial parties.
More information about the NWOpen API can be found on the NWO data portal.