Karlstad University is one of 12 European partner organisations participating in the RDA project, which aims to develop more responsible approaches to research assessment.
“The goal is to contribute to a research evaluation ecosystem in which research is assessed on the basis of a broader range of values than traditional performance metrics,” says Georgios Pavlidis, Associate Professor of Sociology and RDA’s project leader at Karlstad University.
As part of the project, researchers will develop tools and indicators to help universities and research organisations assess their research based on quality, openness, relevance and societal impact, rather than relying solely on traditional measures such as citations and other bibliometric indicators.
The project is based on the principles of CoARA and DORA, namely international initiatives that promote fairer and more qualitative methods for assessing research and researchers.
“Research assessment influences the research practises that are encouraged within academia. By developing methods that better capture the quality, relevance and societal impact of research, we aim to contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive research ecosystem,” says Georgios Pavlidis.
Among other activities, the researchers will map how far research organisations have progressed in implementing the principles of CoARA and develop indicators to monitor progress over time.
“We hope the project will contribute to greater awareness of the value of a reformed research assessment system according to CoARA, in which the impact and benefit of research for society are at the centre,” says Georgios Pavlidis.
About the project
The project RDA – Pacing the Way Towards a Systematic Uptake of Emerging Reformative Approaches to RTD Assessment Across the EU Research Ecosystem brings together 12 partner organisations from eight countries and is coordinated by the University of Lodz in Poland. At Karlstad University, the project involves Georgios Pavlidis and Malin Stegmann McCallion, Associate Professor of Political Science.
The project is funded by the European Commission through the Horizon Europe programme and runs until 28 February 2029.
- Read more about the project: cordis.europa.eu
