PIDfest 26

In this presentation, you will hear about the process of collecting use cases and developing best practices for PIDs for Instruments and Facilities in the Australian context.

If you are interested in learning more about how facilities and instruments can be identified in a National context, then this session is for you. Attendees will gain an insight into how the i4iOZ (identifiers for instruments, Australasia) Community of Practice have developed best‑practice guidelines for facility and instrument identification across the country.

These best practices are informed by the Australian National PID Strategy and international standards such as PIDINST and the work of the FAIR Facilities and Instruments Network. This session will also provide real-world use cases to support effective PID adoption from organisations implementing these approaches.

From its origins as the International Geo Sample Number over two decades ago, IGSN has evolved into a widely recognised persistent identifier for physical objects. Now known as the International Generic Sample Number, it assigns unique, persistent identifiers to physical samples across disciplines—from geoscience to archaeology and materials science. Managed by IGSN e.V. and strengthened through a strategic partnership with DataCite, IGSN has grown rapidly, surpassing 14.8 million registered samples by February 2026.

Today, IGSN is evolving to meet modern research needs. It will integrate into the global PID Graph, linking with identifiers like ORCID and ROR to enhance data connectivity and machine readability. At the same time, efforts to align IGSN with international standards and ontologies are improving interoperability across disciplines. Together, these advances position IGSN as a vital backbone for FAIR, connected, and future-ready scientific data ecosystems worldwide.