Progressing the global samples community through the new partnership between IGSN and DataCite

In October 2021, DataCite and the IGSN e.V. signed an agreement to form a partnership to support the global adoption, implementation, and use of physical sample identifiers. Both DataCite and IGSN currently offer the ability to provide Globally Unique Persistent, Resolvable Identifiers (GUPRIs) within the overall research ecosystem, and the proposed collaboration will bring together the strengths of each organization.

DataCite is a community-led organisation that has been providing the means to create, find, cite, connect, and use research across 47 countries globally since 2009. DataCite provides persistent identifiers (DOIs) for research data and other research outputs, and supports the efforts of several identifier communities. DataCite also develops services that make it easier for researchers to connect and share their DOIs with the broader research ecosystem. 
IGSN e.V. is an international, non-profit organization with more than 20 members and has a narrower focus than DataCite. The core purpose of IGSN is to enable transparent and traceable connections between samples, instruments, grants, data, publications, people and organizations. Since 2011, IGSN has provided a central registration system that enables researchers to apply a globally unique and persistent identifier for physical samples.

The proposed partnership will enable IGSN to leverage DataCite DOI registration while allowing IGSN to focus on community efforts such as promoting and expanding the global samples ecosystem and supporting new research and best practice in methods of identifying, citing, and locating physical samples. DataCite will provide the IGSN ID registration services and support to ensure the ongoing sustainability of the IGSN PID infrastructure and its integration with the global PID ecosystem.

This partnership is an opportunity for IGSN to reenvision its governance and community engagement and to reassess how the IGSN can best serve the community in today’s open science ecosystem. This talk will focus on the developing changes to the IGSN governance and community efforts.
Different research communities have a wide range of requirements towards metadata and identification of samples. The IGSN plans to develop an international ‘Community of Communities’ which will include members from the global samples community across multiple disciplines. The community will support varying levels of skills with PIDs and metadata. It will enable cohesion around the use of IGSN thus enabling greater research discovery, innovation and advancement for samples.

The IGSN Samples Community (IGSN SC) aspires to be a collaborative space for community development that promotes the use of samples and their connections to any derived observations, images, and analytical data.