EUA signs agreement on reforming research assessment

The European University Association is pleased to announce that the Association will sign the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment and join the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA).

Both decisions were unanimously approved by the EUA Council, at its meeting in Brussels on 28 October. The decision to formally endorse the agreement by the Association, which represents more than 850 universities and national rectors’ conferences across Europe, comes at an opportune time for this initiative, as CoARA’s Constitutive Assembly will take place on 1 December.

During the meeting, EUA Council members further discussed the importance of universities’ active involvement in research assessment reform, while stressing how crucial it is that each institution makes its own informed decision on signing the agreement and joining the coalition. Moreover, the meeting underlined the importance of sufficient representation of universities in the coalition and its governing bodies, notably to guarantee that the sector’s interests are fully taken into account throughout the reform process.

Research assessment reform is a strategic objective for EUA as part of the broader reform of academic careers, one of the priorities for action outlined in Universities without walls, the Association’s vision for resilient and effective universities serving Europe’s societies. As such, EUA has made extensive contributions to this process so far, both through the Drafting Team for the agreement and now as part of CoARA’s Interim Secretariat, alongside Science Europe and Dr Karen Stroobants and with the vital support of the European Commission.

This article was first published on 7 November by EUA.