From the ORCID mission statement:
"ORCID aims to solve the name ambiguity problem in research and scholarly communications by creating a central registry of unique identifiers for individual researchers and an open and transparent linking mechanism between ORCID and other current researcher ID schemes. These identifiers, and the relationships among them, can be linked to the researcher's output to enhance the scientific discovery process and to improve the efficiency of research funding and collaboration within the research community."
NOTICE: ORCID iDs will now be REQUIRED (beginning FY2020) for individuals supported by research training, fellowship, research education, and career development awards from NIH, AHRQ, and CDC. See the notice here.
And in more detail
"ORCID is an open, non-profit, community-driven effort to create and maintain a registry of unique researcher identifiers and a transparent method of linking research activities and outputs to these identifiers. ORCID is unique in its ability to reach across disciplines, research sectors and national boundaries. It is a hub that connects researchers and research through the embedding of ORCID identifiers in key workflows, such as research profile maintenance, manuscript submissions, grant applications, and patent applications.
ORCID provides two core functions: (1) a registry to obtain a unique identifier and manage a record of activities, and (2) APIs that support system-to-system communication and authentication. ORCID makes its code available under an open source license, and will post an annual public data file under a CC0 waiver for free download.
The ORCID Registry is available free of charge to individuals, who may obtain an ORCID identifier, manage their record of activities, and search for others in the Registry. Organizations may become members to link their records to ORCID identifiers, to update ORCID records, to receive updates from ORCID, and to register their employees and students for ORCID identifiers.
ORCID records hold non-sensitive information such as name, email, organization and research activities. ORCID understands the fundamental need for individuals to control how their data are shared, and provides tools to manage data privacy. We take steps to protect your information, consistent with the principles set forth in our Privacy Policy, which are intended to comply with the Safe Harbor Principles issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce."
For anyone conducting and publishing research, an ORCID ID is a valuable tool because it allows you to distinguish yourself from other researchers with similar names. Your unique ORCID ID number can be easily attached to all of your research output such as papers, protocols, datasets, articles, presentations, and patents and allows others to quickly and accurately find your work.
Since 2019, all researchers receiving funding from the NIH have been required to have an ORCID ID. Under the 2022 Nelson Memo, all researchers receiving funding from the federal government will need to have a persistent identifier to help strengthen the integrity of federally-funded research. ORCID ID is the only persistent research identifier that currently meets federal specifications.
