Even uncommon names aren’t reliable. Databases shorten, translate, and misspell names—and over time new researchers with the same name appear, even in your field. ORCID assigns you a unique, persistent ID so that your work always stays linked to you, not someone else.

• Names can be inconsistent across systems
• Authorship mix-ups are common, even with rare names
• ORCID removes this guesswork with a permanent identifier

MRU tip: Use your ORCID iD whenever you submit grants, publish, or deposit in MROAR to make sure your work isn’t confused with someone else’s.

A current ORCID record makes your work easier to find, attribute, and connect across systems. Many systems can automatically add new outputs, funding, and affiliations to your profile when it’s linked and up to date. Keeping your ORCID record current also supports the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) so your work can be discovered and used more easily.

• Improves discoverability and accuracy
• Reduces manual data entry for grants and publications
• Ensures others see the full picture of your contributions

MRU tip: Set aside a few minutes each year to review your ORCID record—especially before grant deadlines or annual reporting.

Sign in at orcid.org/signin to add or edit information. If you’ve forgotten your password, email, or have more than one account, ORCID provides simple recovery tools.

• Reset a password or recover your account
• Find and merge duplicate accounts
• Browse all ORCID help guides

MRU tip:  If you link your ORCID to scholarly systems you use regularly like your publisher accounts, updates will often sync automatically, other outputs (including teaching materials) will need to be added manually - more systems are adding features to automatically push updates to ORCID everyday.

Not exactly. ORCID connects and shares your contributions across systems, but it isn’t a formatted CV. It can auto‑fill forms for grants, publishers, and some reporting tools, but you’ll still need a CV for promotion, tenure, or job applications.

• Use ORCID to keep an up‑to‑date list of outputs and activities
• Export data from ORCID to help build your CV
• Some funders and publishers may pull your ORCID record directly instead of asking for a separate list

MRU tip: Think of ORCID as a companion to your CV. A well‑maintained record makes creating or updating a CV faster and ensures nothing is missed.

Yes. Your public ORCID record is a simple, shareable profile that anyone can view, and it can serve as a lightweight professional webpage. However, it’s not a full personal site—you control what appears, but there’s no custom design or extra sections.

• Share your public ORCID link on email signatures, slides, and social media
• ORCID automatically displays works, affiliations, and funding you’ve added
• For a richer web presence, ORCID works best alongside a personal or departmental profile

MRU tip: Adjust your privacy settings so your public ORCID record shows what you want others to see.

ORCID offers a neutral, researcher-controlled platform that can help reduce bias:

• Ensures work is correctly attributed regardless of name changes, cultural naming conventions, or non-traditional publication paths
• Enables visibility for open and community-based research outputs
• Supports global interoperability for researchers working across borders or systems

MRU tip: Use ORCID to highlight work that may not appear in traditional bibliometric databases, like Indigenous scholarship, public-facing research, or community-engaged teaching.

You’ll use your ORCID iD when applying for grants, submitting articles for publication, or participating in other reporting processes.

You can also include it in your web profile, CV, or any place where your research or academic work is referenced.

MRU tip: Watch for fields asking for your ORCID iD when using grant portals or journal submission systems. Some may pre-fill information if your ORCID is connected.

ORCID helps MRU:

• Track and showcase research across departments and disciplines
• Support faculty reporting through integration with systems such as the data repository and the open journal platform.
• Maintain accurate records for affiliations, funding, and institutional outputs

MRU tip: Use your ORCID iD when submitting grant applications or depositing in MROAR to help track and promote institutional scholarship.

Your ORCID iD is yours for life. It isn’t tied to any specific institution.

You can continue using it to connect and manage your research, teaching, and scholarly contributions at any stage of your career, wherever you work.

MRU tip: You can update your affiliation manually or allow your new institution to update it if they use a trusted ORCID integration.

Persistent identifiers (PIDs) are unique, permanent IDs for things like people (ORCID), publications (DOIs), data sets, grants, and organizations. They link together across systems to make research easier to find, track, and reuse without confusion.

• ORCID = identifies you
• DOI = identifies a publication, dataset, or object
• ROR = identifies an institution

When these PIDs are connected, they create a network: your ORCID links to your works (via DOIs), which link to your institution (via ROR), and so on.

MRU tip: Use your ORCID wherever possible—many systems will then automatically connect your contributions to the right outputs and affiliations.

Learn more: How persistent identifiers work together

The Canadian ORCID Consortium and the Tri-Agencies support ORCID adoption to:

• Streamline funding applications and reduce administrative burden
• Ensure accurate attribution of research
• Advance open science and interoperability

MRU tip: Consider linking your ORCID iD when applying to CIHR, NSERC, or SSHRC grants. This can simplify processes and pre-fill your information where possible.

ORCID records aren’t a traditional citation index. Instead, ORCID iDs are connected and exchanged across systems. Many publishers, funders, and repositories use your ORCID to keep their own records accurate.

• Publisher systems (journal submission, peer review)
• Grant portals (Tri‑Agency, NIH, Horizon Europe)
• Institutional systems are increasingly using them when ORCID is available.

Your public ORCID record can also be searched directly on orcid.org.

Find out more about systems that integrate ORCID: ORCID Certified Service Providers List ( providers recognized as adhering to best practices)  and Common systems for ORCID Integration (ORCID integration status of commonly used software systems)

MRU tip: Keeping your record up to date means these systems can pull in the right information automatically.

The ORCID Help Center has detailed answers to many common questions.

MRU tip: You can also contact the MRU Library if you're unsure how best to use ORCID in our local context.