Advancing Open Science with Persistent Identifiers: Collaboration and Capacity-Building at the National University of Rosario

The National University of Rosario (UNR) in Argentina has long been committed to principles of Open Science and public access to knowledge. As an active participant in Argentina's national Open Access policy landscape—anchored by Law 26.899, which mandates open access to publicly funded research—UNR has built a solid foundation of digital infrastructure, including its Academic Data Repository (RDA-UNR), which supports research data publication using the Dataverse platform and DataCite DOIs.

Despite these foundational efforts, institutional actors at UNR recognized a persistent barrier: many researchers, journal editors, and even support staff still lacked familiarity with the value of persistent identifiers (PIDs) and the practical steps needed to share data in accordance with international FAIR principles. In 2024, with support from the DataCite Global Access Fund (GAF), the university launched a dedicated outreach and training project titled:

"Empowering Open Science with PIDs: A Journey of Collaboration and Impact at the National University of Rosario."

The project catalyzed a university-wide effort to strengthen awareness, develop technical and communication capacities, and foster a more connected, transparent, and impactful research ecosystem.

From Awareness to Action: A Multi-Level Strategy

Recognizing the diversity of stakeholders within the institution, including over 3,000 researchers across twelve faculties, the project adopted an integrated approach. It combined capacity-building workshops, curation support, and creative dissemination strategies to engage researchers, librarians, systems administrators, journal editors, and the general public.

Key activities included:

• A series of workshops on data curation, FAIR principles, and video production for researchers, with over 250 direct participants and hundreds more reached via recorded content. 

• The development of "Data Stories", a format of short videos that explain the value of specific datasets published in RDA-UNR, linking each story to a DOI and ORCID iD. 

• A coordinated social media campaign including email newsletters and social media posts. 
• The publication of a practical guide on how to implement DOIs across platforms such as Dataverse, OJS, ORCID, and WordPress.  
• Regional outreach through presentations and training events at international conferences like RedSara Symposium and BIREDIAL-ISTEC, as well as collaborations with librarians, repositories, and academic networks across Latin America.

Tangible Impact: Data Sharing in Practice

The 2024 GAF project activities at UNR yielded significant results:

• 20 FAIR-compliant datasets were published, and 21 more are in progress.
• 627 new DOIs were registered, a marked increase in visibility and traceability of research outputs.
• Research datasets were disseminated through creative, researcher-driven formats such as video interviews, increasing engagement and reuse.
• Participation in events from over 1,000 researchers, librarians, and students across Argentina and Latin America. 
• High engagement on social media, with over 53,000 impressions on LinkedIn and more than 700 video views helped broaden the audience for UNR's open data efforts.
• Recognition was given to researchers who published datasets, reinforcing the value of data sharing within the academic culture. 
• Workshops also enabled interdisciplinary exchanges, including with researchers from biochemistry, veterinary sciences, architecture, linguistics, and social sciences—all of whom contributed new datasets and insights on data reuse.

Lessons Learned: Building Sustainable Capacity

While the initiative succeeded in increasing awareness and participation, it also revealed important institutional needs. One key challenge was the scale and diversity of the university itself—each faculty has unique data types and disciplinary practices, requiring localized expertise.

To address this, the RDA-UNR team is now focused on training specialized curators within each academic unit. A postgraduate course on Open Science and FAIR data principles is being developed in 2025 to formalize this capacity-building effort.

Another insight was the importance of working with journal editors to bridge the gap between articles and associated datasets. Although data availability policies exist, implementation remains uneven. The RDA-UNR team is now collaborating with editorial boards to promote the inclusion of data availability statements, in accordance with national law and open science standards.

Toward a Broader Open Science Ecosystem

UNR's efforts are aligned with a growing national and regional interest in strengthening research data infrastructure. As more institutions in Argentina explore the use of DOIs for datasets, there is a shared aspiration to eventually form a national DataCite consortium. UNR, with its experience in PID implementation and open data practices, is well-positioned to support such future collaboration.

Additionally, the project highlighted the need for greater integration of research data in academic publishing across Latin America, where uptake remains low. UNR is committed to supporting the creation of a working group that can promote shared practices, develop regional training programs, and seek collective funding opportunities.

Conclusion 

The GAF-supported project, completed in December 2024, laid the foundation for a more transparent, interconnected, and impactful research ecosystem at UNR. By embracing persistent identifiers and open data standards, the University is not only advancing research visibility and reuse, but also building a sustainable model for open science in Argentina and the region.

Learn more about the project and access resources

• RDA-UNR Info 
• RDA-UNR Info GAF 
• Instagram: @coordinacionunr
• X (Twitter): Acceso Abierto UNR @AA_UNR 
• LinkedIn: Universidad Nacional de Rosario – UNR 
• YouTube: UNROficial