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Research assessment – CoARA

uclouvain |

 

Reforming research evaluation

Since 10 October 2023, UCLouvain has been a member of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment, CoARA, and has signed the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment. CoARA is an initiative that aims to reform research assessment methods and processes to maximise the quality and impact of research by recognising a greater diversity of scientific contributions. 

Current research evaluation methods rely strongly on publication-related metrics (e.g., number of citations, h-index, etc.) and often fail to recognise the wide range of contributions made by researchers. This recognition of the diversity of results, practices and activities is based on a mainly qualitative approach, for which peer review is essential and is accompanied by the sensible use of metric indicators. 

The CoARA coalition currently brings together more than 700 organisations worldwide (universities, research organisations, funders, assessment authorities, professional societies, associations, etc.). These organisations benefit from assistance, the sharing of best practices, and knowledge exchange within the collaborative initiative. They are also committed to shared principles and commitments to move towards fairer and more responsible assessment practices. 

CoARA’s commitments

The agreement on reforming research evaluation consists of 10 commitments intended to harmonise mutual involvement while respecting the autonomy of the organisations concerned: 

Commitment 1

Recognise the diversity of contributions to, and careers in, research in accordance with the needs and the nature of the research.

Commitment 2

Base research assessment primarily on qualitative evaluation for which peer review is central, supported by responsible use of quantitative indicators.

Commitment 3

Abandon inappropriate uses in research assessment of journal- and publication-based metrics, in particular inappropriate uses of Journal Impact Factor (JIF) and h-index. 

Commitment 4

Avoid the use of rankings of research organisations in research assessment.

Commitment 5

Commit resources to reforming research assessment as is needed to achieve the organisational changes committed to.

Commitment 6

Review and develop research assessment criteria, tools and processes.

Commitment 7

Raise awareness of research assessment reform and provide transparent communication, guidance, and training on assessment criteria and processes as well as their use.

Commitment 8

Exchange practices and experiences to enable mutual learning within and beyond the coalition.

Commitment 9

Communicate progress made on adherence to the principles and implementation of the commitments.

Commitment 10

Evaluate practices, criteria and tools based on solid evidence and the state-of-the-art in research on research, and make data openly available for evidence gathering and research. 

For more details on these various commitments, please consult the official coalition pages.

UCLouvain’s CoARA action plan

In signing the reform, UCLouvain undertook to publish an action plan describing everything that will be implemented to meet the 10 commitments of the agreement, with varying degrees of priority. UCLouvain’s CoARA action plan (2024-2029) is available here.