CoARA Membership Now Reaches 700 Members, Signifying a Key Milestone in the Initiative’s Development
Nearing the 2nd anniversary of CoARA, membership recently hit 700 members worldwide, including members from Europe, Australia, Latin America, and Africa.
As we near the two-year milestone, I believe CoARA is ready to take the next step in advancing our ambitions, both in substance and organisation. We are proud to see CoARA thriving as a coalition of actors leading the forefront of reform through their practical commitments. Moving forward, we remain dedicated to responding to their needs, providing this vibrant community with the recommendations and resources necessary for members to successfully implement the Agreement on the Reform of Research Assessment.
– Rianne Letschert, Chair of CoARA Steering Board
As reform evolves, many signatories have now submitted their Action Plans, which provide roadmaps for implementing the commitments of the Agreement and enable signatories to share their progress with one another. Signatories of the Agreement reguarly demonstrate progress towards reviewing, developing, and evaluating criteria, tools, and processes that fulfil the core Commitments of the Agreement within five years of signing.
Over the past year, CoARA’s communities of practice have become more established with 13 active Working Groups and 16 active National Chapters ramping up their activities. With events such as the first Working Group Co-Chairs Forum in Helsinki and the National Activities Supporting Research Assessment Reforms Conference in Brussels earlier this year, implementation communities are enhancing knowledge exchange by sharing their challenges, progress, and best practices and by harmonising their efforts to implement change on regional and institutional levels.
In line with this growing momentum, CoARA also provides funding to catalyse institutional changes in research assessment practices. The first portfolio of the CoARA Boost Cascade Funding projects was selected in October 2024. Starting in December 2024 and January 2025, these 25 selected projects showcase a rich diversity of starting points and approaches to research assessment reform in an array of institutional and geographical contexts. A second call of Cascade Funding will open in December to support another round of projects to further implement research assessment reform.
The Coalition of 700 members will convene during the upcoming CoARA General Assembly meeting on December 9th, 2024 to elect a new Chair, as well as Steering Board members. During the upcoming General Assembly meeting, members will also discuss strategic matters regarding the next steps for CoARA, including endorsement framework mechanisms for CoARA-affiliated outputs.
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