EUTOPIA Alliance Joins Forces with Over 500 Member Organizations in CoARA Coalition to Revolutionise Research Assessment

Date: June 13, 2023

In a significant milestone for the scientific community, the EUTOPIA alliance has recently signed as a full Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) associate. Launched in December 2022, CoARA has witnessed an impressive surge in participation from research institutions across various disciplines and now announces over 500 members. This achievement underscores the growing support for its mission to bring about systematic reforms in research assessment. The Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment sets a collective path for transforming assessment practices in research, researchers, and research-performing organisations. Central to this mission is the importance of qualitative judgment, anchored by peer review, while incorporating the responsible use of quantitative indicators. It also establishes the foundation for a collaborative coalition of organisations committed to executing these reforms. 

The CoARA agreement is built on six core principles the EUTOPIA alliance wholeheartedly endorses. These principles emphasise recognising the diversity of contributions and careers in research, prioritising qualitative evaluation with responsible use of quantitative indicators, abandoning inappropriate use of journal- and publication-based metrics such as the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) and h-index, avoiding reliance on rankings of research organisations, committing necessary resources for assessment reforms, and reviewing and developing assessment criteria, tools, and processes.

The CoARA agreement represents a paradigm shift in the global research landscape, challenging the overreliance on numbers and metrics. The strong support from numerous institutions and organisations underlines the need for governments and European institutions to heed these calls for change. Europe has a unique opportunity to take the lead in redefining how science and knowledge generation are evaluated for the future.

The scientific community eagerly awaits the positive outcomes resulting from CoARA's transformative movement in research assessment practices. As CoARA continues to gain support and facilitate change, it is poised to shape the future of research evaluation. Readers are encouraged to visit the official CoARA website (https://coara.eu/) for further information on the agreement and the coalition's ongoing initiatives.