The adoption of ORCID within WITS University

Abstract

This case study examines the journey embarked by the University of Witwatersrand (WITS) in the adoption of ORCID to address external reporting, researcher visibility, and institutional benchmarking. The aim of the study was to investigate how ORCID could be effectively implemented and what change management strategies were used to achieve sustainable adoption among WITS researchers. A mixed-methods case study design was employed with real observations during the ORCID implementation targeting academic staff between 2020 and 2026. The implementation process was analyzed and assesed across two phases focusing on ORCID data quality, change management, and adoption rate. The study combined: Quantitative data: •Number of authenticated ORCID iDs linked to academic staff on the Human Resource, system annually. Qualitative data: •Stakeholder feedback from the Research Office, Marketing, Library, Information Systems, and Faculty Human Resource representatives, •Project implementation documents, reports, and internal communication platforms.