Connected Open Identifiers for Discovery, Access and Use of Research Resources

Project Information

FREYA

Grant agreement ID: 777523

DOI

10.3030/777523

Project closed

EC signature date 13 November 2017

Start date 1 December 2017

End date 30 November 2020

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Research Infrastructures

Total cost

€ 5 246 117,50

EU contribution

€ 4 998 650,00

Coordinated by

UNITED KINGDOM RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - FREYA (Connected Open Identifiers for Discovery, Access and Use of Research Resources)

Reporting period: 2019-06-01 to 2020-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Persistent identifiers (PIDs) are an essential element in how research is conducted. They identify and link to digital objects such as online publications and datasets, or real-world entities such as individual researchers and organisations. They provide a convenient and reliable way to refer to these entities and find and access them online.

The FREYA project is developing persistent identifiers into a core component of European and global research e-infrastructures. Although PIDs are already well established in most areas of research, there is still great potential (and necessity) for extending their scope and use within e-infrastructures, and particularly the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). The movement towards FAIR data places PIDs at centre stage: every aspect of FAIR needs a good PID infrastructure.

The vision of FREYA is built on three key ideas: the PID Graph, PID Forum and PID Commons. The PID Graph is the vision of linking together a wide range of entities with PIDs to allow complex queries going beyond link-following, for example about the impact of particular scientific facilities through the outputs of experiments conducted on them. The Graph is a vision, but consists also in the tools for making that vision a reality—interfaces, standards, practices. In FREYA it is also embodied in the development of pilot applications, embedded in their fields of research and responding to real user needs. The PID Forum is the assembly of stakeholders brought together by FREYA to oversee the project’s developments and provide input and feedback. The PID Commons refers to the structures and mechanisms for achieving sustainability of the PID infrastructure: not only services provided by FREYA partners, but governance more widely, especially within the context of the EOSC.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The FREYA project has now concluded and has achieved some highly important results for the PID infrastructure.

The conceptual and technical bases of the general PID Graph were established, making concrete the motivating vision of the project that was refined through the creation of a corpus of user stories representing real needs for a rich PID infrsatructure. A production service for the general PID Graph was launched by DataCite in May 2020. FREYA also contributed to the development of PIDs for entities that do not yet have them (or are not yet mature), and created or enhanced a range of PID-based applications in several diverse areas of research, showing the potential of the PID Graph vision.

FREYA has established an excellent track record in communication with stakeholders and communities in the world of PIDs. At an early stage the project’s initial online communication channels were set up in the form of a Twitter channel and website. FREYA has been represented at many high-profile events including RDA Plenary Meetings, PIDapalooza (a major annual event dedicated to PIDs) and many conferences. An active group of FREYA Ambassadors was established. A major development was the launch of pidforum.org a website for all kinds of information exchange about PIDs, under the aegis of FREYA.

Regarding the PID Commons, the landscape changed rapidly as the FREYA project progressed, and especially as EOSC gathered momentum and its structures and procedures evolved. FREYA's work on sustainability began with a comprehensive review of relevant existing material to inform the planning, and examined the "what", "who" and "how" of sustainability. In the final year, an important study was conducted of the potential for a "PID Alliance" of stakeholders, which could form the kernel of the PID Commons. FREYA also contributed to EOSC activities including the formulation of the EOSC PID policy.

Fruitful collaboration took place with other EOSC-building projects, EOSC-hub and OpenAIRE Advance.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The technical bases of the PID Graph represent important progress in enabling rich services on top of the PID infrastructure. A number of new PID types have been further developed through the work of FREYA. The common DOI search service allows search over the global PID Graph in a way that was not possible before.

The pilot applications of FREYA partners were enriched and extended, either with new PID types or through advancement in already-established connections.

A website pidforum.org has been established as a global location for all PID-related discussions, and its future beyond FEYA has been secured. FREYA produced training material and videos that will continue to be of value beyond the end of the project. Fruitful collaboration with EOSC bodies and RDA groups has helped to spread the vision of the PID Graph and enable its integration with existing infrastructures.

The work on scoping a PID Alliance will be taken further torwards a body that can be the kernel of the PID Commons, with other defined roles and concerns for aspects of sustainability of the PID infrastructure.

FREYA has contributed to the development of EOSC through contributions to its PID policy and the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda.

The impacts of all this work will be felt in the areas of research supported by the European Open Science Cloud and beyond, by providing a firm foundation for exploiting PIDs to develop innovative applications, and establishing effective and resilient governance mechanisms to ensure that PIDs continue to develop in ways that benefit and are open to the communities they serve.

Depiction of the key results of the FREYA project