Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment
The European initiative CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment), promoted by Europe Science and the European Universities Association (EUA) with the support of the European Commission, brings together a large number of organisations (as of November 2023, some 650) involved in one way or another in the research process and/or its assessment. A participatory process took place during the first months of 2022, which ended with an agreement containing common principles and commitments to drive forward a systemic reform of research evaluation. This agreement was published in July 2022. In November 2022 the UAB joined the agreement, and the signatory organisations include AQU, ANECA, CRUE, CSIC, CERCA and more than thirty Spanish universities.
The key point of the agreement is that the system of evaluation of research, research staff and research organisations should recognise the diverse outcomes, practices and activities that maximise the quality and impact of research. This requires the introduction of qualitative aspects in evaluation, for which peer review is central, always supported by the responsible use of quantitative indicators. In fact, the scientific community itself has strongly questioned the current research evaluation system because of the limitations, biases and dependence on the metrics used. In any case, and in order to move towards a new evaluation system, the agreement includes some principles, commitments and timelines for reforms and lays the groundwork for a coalition of organisations willing to work together to implement the changes, ultimately forming communities of practice where experience and learning can be shared. With the support of the coalition, organisations will decide on the steps to be taken to implement the commitments and the pace of their reform process, which may vary according to their context (national, disciplines, research structures, etc.), their strategic objectives and the mission of each organisation.
The CoARA working group of UAB has elaborated and published the CoARA Action Plan at UAB 2024-2027
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