Advancing Research Through DataCite's Global Access Fund: People and Nature Reconciliation, Vietnam 

People and Nature Reconciliation (PanNature) is a Vietnamese non-profit organization founded in 2006, dedicated to protecting biodiversity and promoting sustainable development. PanNature works to harmonize the relationship between people and nature through policy advocacy, field-based conservation, and community partnerships, aiming to improve environmental governance and ensure responsible use of natural resources.

Through the project "Pilot Biodiversity Data Management System with DataCite Integration", PanNature seeks to develop a small-scale, DataCite-enabled database for biodiversity data. The project will standardize data formats, implement DOI assignment for datasets, and build staff capacity in data management and DataCite tools. PanNature applied for the Global Access Fund to strengthen its data infrastructure and contribute to open biodiversity information sharing with technical and financial support from GAF. The project addresses key challenges in Vietnam's biodiversity sector, including fragmented data management, limited accessibility and sharing of conservation data, and weak integration with global systems. By piloting a model for standardized, open, and citable biodiversity data, the initiative aims to enhance data discoverability, support evidence-based conservation, and contribute to global efforts in open biodiversity information sharing.

Scaling Biodiversity Data in Vietnam

Since the beginning of 2025, the project "Pilot Biodiversity Data Management System with DataCite Integration" has made steady progress toward its goal of developing a small-scale, DataCite-enabled database for biodiversity data. The initiative focuses on improving the discoverability, accessibility, and long-term stewardship of biodiversity datasets generated by PanNature and its partners in Vietnam.

On February 21, PanNature held a kick-off meeting with staff and management to clarify the project's scope, expected deliverables, and implementation plan. This was followed by an internal training session on March 28, introducing the concepts of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) and metadata standards. The session emphasized how metadata enhances dataset discoverability and how DOI assignment ensures citation, transparency, and long-term preservation of biodiversity data.

During this period, the project team also initiated stakeholder outreach, engaging with research institutions, NGOs, and local conservation organizations that manage biodiversity data. These discussions provided valuable insights into the current challenges of data management in Vietnam and informed the design of a more practical, scalable database model. Internally, PanNature began reorganizing its existing biodiversity datasets, including research reports on biodiversity, water resource management, forest governance, community behavior, and field survey reports in nature reserves, community-based conservation, and socio-environmental impacts. The team conducted a comprehensive review of the DataCite Metadata Schema to shape a customized metadata template suitable for local conservation datasets.

In the third quarter, the project focused on technical development and testing of the DOI integration process. The team collected and synthesized biodiversity data from PanNature's internal records to ensure quality and consistency. A total of 50 biodiversity-related documents and datasets were identified and formatted to meet DataCite's metadata and DOI registration requirements. A draft workflow for metadata submission and DOI assignment was developed, detailing each step from dataset preparation to final registration in DataCite Fabrica. To validate the process, the team first assigned DOIs to five test datasets, successfully testing DOI creation, metadata visibility, and linking functionality. Following this, DOIs were assigned to all 50 prepared datasets, completing a large-scale validation of the workflow.

One of the main challenges was the limited familiarity with metadata standards among staff and partners, which initially slowed data preparation and DOI assignment. This was addressed through hands-on mentoring and iterative reviews of metadata records.

By the end of Q3, PanNature successfully established a functioning DOI assignment workflow, trained core staff on DataCite processes, and demonstrated the feasibility of integrating DOIs into biodiversity data management in Vietnam. This pilot marks an important step toward creating a more transparent, citable, and interoperable biodiversity data ecosystem, supporting both conservation initiatives and global open data initiatives.

Connecting Research Nationwide

Implementing the pilot biodiversity data management project has revealed both challenges and promising opportunities for advancing open data practices in Vietnam's conservation community. One major challenge has been building technical capacity for metadata creation and DOI registration, as these concepts are still new to many local organizations. However, this process has also highlighted strong interest from researchers and NGOs in adopting more standardized and transparent data-sharing methods. The collaboration with DataCite has provided PanNature with invaluable experience in applying global data infrastructure to local biodiversity work. Through the DOI integration process, we have strengthened our understanding of metadata quality, data discoverability, and long-term stewardship.

Looking ahead, PanNature envisions continuing its partnership with DataCite by joining the DataCite community and expanding DOI registration for additional datasets, and exploring opportunities to connect our system with other national and regional biodiversity databases. We also aim to serve as an advocate for open data and metadata best practices within Vietnam's conservation network, helping build a broader community of practice around open science and digital data management.