The processes and practices that structure research assessments are key to ensuring the quality of research. There is a need to diversify the activities, outputs, and outcomes that are recognised as part of research assessment processes. Equally, a broader set of skills and competencies must be acknowledged and valued as part of the assessments of researchers.
Science Europe works to ensure that research quality remains the core principle that underpins evaluation processes at all levels.
Research assessment lies at the core of all Science Europe Member Organisations’ activities and is fundamental to the research endeavour. It is used to select projects and researchers for funding, for determining career progression, and to evaluate research units and institutes. It forms the basis for our recognition, rewards, and incentives systems, and therefore influences the behaviours and activities of all members of the research community.
Science Europe’s Member Organisations periodically review how the assessments of research and researchers are designed and implemented. They aim to ensure that their assessment processes are fair, efficient, transparent, and effective.
It is Science Europe’s priority to promote research quality as the most important factor in research assessment.
Research assessment must reward all research contributions and activities, and promote good research practices, reproducibility, and integrity. To that end, it needs to capture the diversity of research outputs and outcomes in a manner that is appropriate to each research field.
Ensuring that research assessment processes are transparent, effective, and fair is of fundamental significance.
Science Europe has worked with its Member Organisations and external stakeholders to carry out a comprehensive study of research assessment practices used by research funding and performing organisations. This has provided an opportunity for members to collectively identify best practices and engage in mutual learning.
In consultation with experts, stakeholders, and the research community, Science Europe developed a set of policy recommendations that represents a best-practice model for research assessment processes.
Science Europe is currently part of a multi-stakeholder initiative that was initiated by the European Commission to reform research assessment. Together with the European University Association and Dr Karen Stroobants, it collected input from more than 350 organisations from over 40 countries to draft an Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment. The next step is to launch a coalition, composed of organisations willing to take forward the implementation of the changes recommended, in the second half of 2022.
Science Europe’s activities on Research Assessment between 2019 and 2021 identified the need to develop a holistic perspective of the policies and practices implemented by research organisations that can influence the values, norms, behaviour, and activities of researchers. This led to the establishment of Science Europe’s new strategic priority on Research Culture. As part of this new Research Culture thinking, Science Europe has extensively discussed the role of core values, and has published a shared Values Framework as a reference for policy and practice changes across all research policy topics.
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Science Europe is working together with CWTS and the Know Center to investigate the links between open science and research cultures.
Science Europe presents ‘A Vision and Framework for Research Cultures’. It synthesises our recent work across numerous policy topics focussing them on the shared objective of R&I systems to advance knowledge and enable the quality and impact of research.
Science Europe launches an invitation to tender for comprehensive desk research into strategic approaches to, and research assessment of, open science. The tender is open until 6 February 2025.
Science Europe launched the report of its membership survey on the role of research funding and performing organisations in advancing open science and its links to research assessment. It reveals their strategic approaches and activities to evaluate, monitor, and collect evidence on research.
This report analyses the role of public research funding and performing organisations in Europe in the shifting landscape of open science and research assessment reform. The findings demonstrate how Science Europe's Member Organisations actively shape and contribute to these developments.
2023 proved to be another landmark year for Science Europe: building on the achievements of the previous year and setting the direction for new approaches in vital areas of research policy.
In the run up to the European Parliament Elections on 6-9 June 2024, Science Europe has launched our 'Vote for Science' Campaign advocating for political support for science research in the EU legislative agenda of the next 5 years. In the interests of securing this support, Science Europe encourages candidates for the European Parliament to consider and commit to 5 pledges to safeguard the future of European research and innovation.
In the run up to the European Parliament Elections on 6-9 June 2024, Science Europe has launched our 'Vote for Science' Campaign advocating for political support for science research in the EU legislative agenda of the next 5 years. As part of our campaign, we've created a factsheet offering a look at the state of science research in Europe, to help voters in understanding how we are doing in supporting science across the areas of our 5 Pledges for Candidates.
This briefing on the ERA Policy Agenda presents actions and advocacy points from Science Europe on the ERA Actions that it contributes to.
The Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) held its first General Assembly on 23 June. It provided updates on the association, activities in the coming months, and news on the call for Working Groups and National Chapters.