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Research and innovation
News article2 December 2022Directorate-General for Research and Innovation

The Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) is now launched

The Constitutive Assembly of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) took place on 1 December 2022. The Assembly was a crucial milestone of a process that lasted two years, with the incipit being the publication in November 2021 of a Commission Scoping Report following nearly a year of stakeholder consultations, that paved the way for the co-creation by stakeholders of the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment. The Agreement was published on 20 July 2022.

The CoARA brings together a wide range of organisations involved in research assessment and their respective associations, including research funding organisations, research performing organisations, national/regional assessment authorities and agencies, learned societies and researcher organisations, all willing to work together to enable systemic reform on the basis of common principles and commitments contained in the Agreement.

The Constitutive Assembly adopted the Governance document, Rules of Procedure for Chair, Vice-Chair(s) and Steering Board, Rules of Procedure for Working Groups, and Code of Conduct of the Coalition. It also endorsed the preliminary work plan and budget of the Coalition and appointed the European Science Foundation – Science Connect as Secretariat of the CoARA.

The Assembly also elected its Steering Board.

Following the CoARA Constitutive Assembly, the Interim Secretariat of the Coalition, composed of the European University Association (EUA), Science Europe, and the European Commission, held a round table discussion in Brussels.  

The round table offered the opportunity for all interested stakeholders, media, as well as the general public, to hear about the outcomes of the Constitutive Assembly. It also included a panel discussion with Anna Panagopoulou (Director of European Research Area & Innovation at the European Commission), Marc Schiltz (President of Science Europe), Amanda Crowfoot (Secretary General of the European University Association – EUA), Karen Stroobants (elected CoARA Vice-Chair) and Lidia Borrell-Damián (elected CoARA Steering Board member). The panel discussion was moderated by Hans Willems, Secretary General of Research Foundation Flanders, FWO.

Panelists stressed the contributions that CoARA will make in driving forward changes to research assessment. The CoARA will inspire its members and support the sharing of lessons learned and good practices from the piloting and implementation of new evaluation criteria, tools and processes carried out by its member organisations. In line with the Agreement, such new criteria, tools and processes will support the recognition of a diversity of outputs, activities and practices that reward those that lead to higher quality and impact of research.

As a CoARA member, the Commission stressed its strong commitment to participate in the CoARA activities and support efforts on making national framework conditions conducive to reforms. The Commission will also facilitate global alignment on the principles of the reform, as well as synergies with other European initiatives.  

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Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA)

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Publication date
2 December 2022
Author
Directorate-General for Research and Innovation