2026-10-28 –, Naturalis 02
B2INST is a Persistent Identifier (PID) service that is designed to persistently register, describe and reference instruments and equipment. By uniquely identifying instruments, describing them with metadata and ensuring they are reliably citable, B2INST aims to address gaps in research data management and enhance the reproducibility of scientific results.
B2INST provides unique, stable, globally resolvable identifiers for scientific instruments and research equipment. This allows researchers to unambiguously reference and cite the instruments used in their research, thereby promoting transparency, reproducibility, and collaboration. Assigning a persistent identifier to each instrument can also support tracking of instrument usage.
The metadata management uses the RDA-endorsed PIDINST metadata schema to capture details such as the instrument's name, model, owner and manufacturer. This provides the basis for standardised information exchange.
Additionally, the community features allow research communities to extend metadata schemas, implement moderation workflows, and apply their own branding.
Are you considering integrating instruments and research equipment into your FAIR data ecosystem?
In this session, you will discover how B2INST provides persistent identifiers that can be used to seamlessly link research data to the scientific instruments involved in research workflows.
You will learn how instrument PIDs can extend research workflows, improve attribution and support compliance with funder mandates.
You will walk away with practical insights into implementing PID-based instrument linking and real-world examples from early adopters. You will also receive tools to help you start integrating via a web interface or API.
Whether you manage research data, build instrument registries, or support research workflows, this session will show you how to make your systems more connected, transparent, and future-ready.
I am an IT professional at GWDG, Germany. I joined GWDG in 2005 and contributed to several international infrastructure and data management projects with the aim to build up research environments for various disciplines.
I am Chair of the Management Board of ePIC (‘PID Consortium for eResearch’) and I am the Coordinator of EOSC's Opportunity Area Expert Group on 'Persistent Identifiers'.
I hold a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Göttingen.
I also has 20+ years experience as an independent IT consultant specialising in small and medium-sized enterprises.