From Metrics to Meaning: How Reforming Research Assessment Drives Innovation, Impact, and Trust in Science

On 8 December, ALLEA is hosting a side event at the 2025 Triennial Conference and General Assembly of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), titled, “From Metrics to Meaning: How Reforming Research Assessment Drives Innovation, Impact, and Trust in Science”, in collaboration with the Global Young Academy, as part of the CoARA Boost project.

The 90-minute session will be moderated by ALLEA President, Paweł Rowiński, and Co-Chair of the Global Young Academy, Yensi Flores Bueso, and includes speaker presentations, a panel discussion, and audience Q&A on such questions as, “How can research assessment systems be reformed for more inclusive science?” “How can evaluation criteria be expanded to encourage socially impactful research, while maintaining research excellence?” and “How do we mitigate biases in qualitative research assessment models?”.

This side event is open to the public via the registration link below. There will also be a livestream.

Event Abstract

Traditional research assessment systems, dominated by publication metrics such as h-index and journal impact factor, risk narrowing the definition of excellence and undervaluing legitimate contributions from the research community that advance science and society. This over-reliance on bibliometrics creates a perverse system of academic incentives, and has fuelled questionable research ethics, paper mills, and a reproducibility crisis – all of which not only impact the quality of research, but, perhaps more importantly, undermine the credibility and social relevance of science.

In recognition of the need for reform, emerging initiatives such as the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) are driving a bottom-up transformation of research cultures by promoting more holistic, responsible, and qualitative evaluation criteria that go beyond publication counts and recognise the wide range of activities undertaken by the researchers, including teaching, science communication, peer reviewing, etc. The objective of CoARA is to (re)build evaluation systems that reward transparency, integrity, and impact in science.

In this session, panellists will explore how research assessment can be redesigned and reformed to incentivise research excellence and socially impactful research – and thereby foster greater public trust in science.

Speakers

• Giovanna Lima, Program Manager, DORA
• Natalia Manola, CEO, OpenAIRE AMKE
• Mathijs Vleugel, Chair, CoARA National Chapter Germany
• Carina Geldhauser, Executive Committee Member, Global Young Academy