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Coimbra Group signs agreement on Research Assessment Reform

23 November 2022

The Coimbra Group is pleased to announce that it has become a signatory of the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment and will join the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA).

In signing this agreement, CG joins almost 400 research organisations, including universities, research centres and funders, as well as national and regional authorities from across Europe and beyond.

This agreement, which is global in scope, creates a common vision aiming to maximise the quality and impact of research. It provides a platform for pilots and experiments, for the development of new assessment criteria, methods and tools, and exchange of best practices and mutual learning.

The endorsement of the agreement was approved unanimously by the Executive Board. The CG has continuously fostered dialogue among its universities on this initiative since the European Commission initiated a consultative exercise in 2021.

During 2022, the Coimbra Group has actively participated in shaping this reform as a part of the Core Group, the Stakeholder Assembly and the Implementation Group co-developing the agreement and the CoARA governance documents.

The whole process has been carefully followed and nurtured by a dedicated CG Task Group composed of members from the Executive Board, and the Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the Research Support Officers and Doctoral Studies working groups.

The implementation phase will start at the CoARA constitutive assembly on 1 December 2022. The CG plans to actively engage in the CoARA working groups and the further roll-out of the initiative to ensure its members’ views are properly represented. CG will also keep informing them on the progress of the reform.

By endorsing the agreement and joining the CoARA, CG continues strengthening its commitment towards research excellence and high-quality careers in academia.