• ROR stands for Research Organization Registry.

• ROR was launched in 2019 and goes back to the OrgID project. The project is the result of an initiative by various libraries, academic publishers and information service providers with the aim of creating an open, community-based directory of institutional identifiers.

• In 2021, ROR officially replaced the Global Research Identifier Database (GRID), which until then had provided a common identifier for scientific institutions. The Open Funder Registry (OFR/FundRef) operated by Crossref will also be merged with ROR from 2024.

• ROR is controlled by the California Digital Library, Crossref and DataCite.

• While the ORCID iD acts as a unique and permanent identifier for individuals in science and research, the ROR ID is a similar identifier for scientific institutions.

• Behind the ROR ID is the Research Organization Registry, a non-profit organisation that has set itself the task of offering a worldwide and free service for disambiguating the names and designations of scientific institutions. ROR thus supports the globally unique assignment of persons and research achievements to scientific institutions.

• Unlike ORCID, an ROR entry is not created by active registration in the Research Organisation Registry, but is set up and curated by the ROR community. Public data and information about organisations is used for this purpose.

• The ROR ID of Freie Universität Berlin is 046ak2485. As part of a web address, it links to the ROR entry of Freie Universität: https://ror.org/046ak2485.

Entry of Freie Universität Berlin in the Research Organisation Registry (ROR).

• The ROR ID can be used wherever a clear indication of institutional affiliation is required. This can be the case, for example, in publication processes or when submitting a funding application.
• If the ROR ID is implemented in the system of a publisher, journal or funding organisation, you can select your institutional affiliation from a controlled list when using the system.
• By doing so, the metadata of your submitted publication or funding application, for example, will automatically be supplemented with the ROR ID of Freie Universität Berlin.
• Please note, however, that the ROR ID is not a substitute for correct affiliation information based on the affiliation guidelines of Freie Universität Berlin.

Do you have any questions about using the ROR ID? Please contact the OA-Team of the University Library: open-access@fu-berlin.de.