Funding is one of the key enablers of the research lifecycle, but has been one of the hardest parts of the scholarly record to identify, describe and connect. This is slowly changing as we have recently reached a very exciting milestone for Crossref’s Grant Linking System (GLS). What makes it remarkable is not only the numbers reached, but where the data comes from. Research funders, who joined Crossref as members, have actively contributed more than 200,000 grants to the Research Nexus (Figure 1).
We are pleased to announce the re-launch of the Crossref Service Providers Program. From today, we are accepting applications from organisations providing tools for metadata registration to Crossref members. Participation in this program is free and the application involves an accreditation process to determine eligibility and the appropriate participation tier.
As a membership organisation, Crossref supports its members to provide rich and complete metadata which facilitates integrity judgements, increases discoverability, linking among scholarly objects and activities, and improves transparency. Service providers are key collaborators in this work because they enable our members to adopt better metadata practices.
Three years ago, we asked our members what they needed from Crossref’s metadata. We received confirmation that we were going in the right direction, as well as some new ideas to explore. This helped set the course for our metadata development work since then, and continues to guide where we’re headed next.
For many years, PubPub has made it possible for communities to assign DOIs to a range of outputs and component Pubs. Knowledge Futures and Crossref are building together to test the limits of what’s possible for high-volume, high-granularity DOI management. That means fast prototypes, real building, and learning through the process.
We have launched a new version of the Crossref Service Providers Program.
Learn more about the program requirements and application process below.
Supporting richer metadata and stronger scholarly infrastructure workflows
The Crossref Service Providers program supports closer collaboration between Crossref and organisations that help our members register, manage, and maintain their metadata.
Crossref Service Providers are organisations that work collaboratively with us to help support member obligations and best practices, such as providing best practice metadata represented in Participation Reports on behalf of members.
Members looking for advice on how to evaluate Service providers can consult guidance on working with a service provider in our documentation.
About the program
Crossref service providers are organisations that support Crossref members with metadata registration and maintenance.
These organisations may include:
Hosting and publishing platforms
Manuscript submission systems
Grant management systems
XML and metadata providers
Publishing services organisations
Workflow and infrastructure providers
These organisations play an important role in helping members implement metadata best practices, maintain DOI stewardship, integrate Crossref services into their workflows, and troubleshoot technical challenges on our platform. This free program provides a formal framework for collaboration between Crossref and service providers to support richer and more complete scholarly metadata.
How we envision working with service providers on the program
The program is designed to support the registration and maintenance of high-quality and rich metadata, thereby contributing to a more connected and complete research nexus. To achieve this, we have developed two service provider tiers. The Basic tier reflects that participants in the program are able to provide members with core metadata support, while the Advanced tier includes participants who can provide all the capabilities of the Basic tier plus additional features that enable even richer metadata support for Crossref members.
Benefits of participating
Organisations participating in the Service Providers program will be listed on our website and, in turn, will receive a badge to use on their website signalling their participation in our Service Providers program. Your organisation will also receive advance communication about relevant Crossref updates and any changes to our schema. You will also receive access to our test systems for integration testing, and have opportunities to provide us with feedback on services, workflows and other developments.
Service Provider commitments
By participating in the program, participants will commit to making an effort to stay up to date with Crossref services and policies and share information about their client service offerings and workflows, including metadata delivery options. Similarly, participants will commit to creating and maintaining test accounts for Crossref to facilitate efficient member support.
It is expected that service providers on our program will promote metadata best practices as represented in our Participation Reports, ensure that their clients’ content and landing pages are maintained and actively resolving, and make reasonable efforts to accommodate services and schema changes.
The application and accreditation process
Applications to join the program are open and will be reviewed on a continuous basis. After completing the form below, you will be invited to an accreditation call which will involve demonstrations of the required functionality. This will help us assess which of the requirements your organisation is able to meet, and which tier would be most suitable.
We recommend reviewing the questions to ensure that the appropriate technical and operational requirements can be met before beginning the application. If you require clarification on any of these questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
Maintain communication channels with Crossref and/or participate in trainings.
Notify Crossref when large-scale metadata updates are planned (i.e. when you are aware of daily updates exceeding 500,000 DOIs updated by a single client (Crossref member)).
Use Crossref members’ credentials to register content on their behalf.
Follow industry best practices for credentials security and account protection.
Advanced Tier requirements and questions
In addition to meeting all the Basic Tier requirements, applicants must confirm whether they:
Provide alternative metadata delivery options.
Support recommended and optional metadata elements.
Support latest schema versions (5.3.1 and above).
Each participant in the program will be required to renew their accreditation at the beginning of each calendar year starting in 2028. This will be done through the submission of a re-accreditation form which may include new requirements such as support for a new schema version. You are invited to complete the application form below to be considered for the program. We look forward to working with you.
Nota Bene: The Service Providers Program is separate from the Sponsors Program where organisations (that may or may not offer tools for metadata registration) act as facilitators to make membership and participation in Crossref more accessible by lowering technical and financial barriers.
Page maintainer: Helena Cousijn Last updated: 2026-June-22
