On 9 December 2024, CoARA’s General Assembly convened online for the second time in 2024 to vote on a new CoARA Chair and 7 new Steering Board members, including Vice Chair. During the meeting, representatives of member organisations also engaged in discussions about the Endorsement Framework for CoARA outputs and a funding framework for the longterm sustainability of CoARA, as well as other guest presentations highlighting the current progress to date from Working Groups and global perspectives on research assessment.
On the 9th of December, 2024, representatives from CoARA member organisations joined together online for the CoARA General Assembly meeting. Coalition members came together to reflect on the year’s achievements and to create a shared vision with the CoARA community looking ahead to 2025 with the election of a new CoARA Chair and 7 Steering Board members, including Vice-Chair.
During the meeting, quorum was reached with fifty-six percent voter participation, concluding the Steering Board elections on the 9th of December 2024 at 12h40 CET.
As a result, we are pleased to announce the new composition of the CoARA Steering Board:
| Role in CoARA Steering Board | Name | Organisation | Country |
| CoARA Chair | Professor Henk Kummeling | Utretch University | The Netherlands |
| Vice-Chair (re-elected) | Dr. Karen Stroobants | Marie Curie Alumni Association | United Kingdom |
| Vice-Chair | Dr. Elizabeth Gadd* | International Network of Research Management Societies (INORMS) | United Kingdom |
| Steering Board member | Prof. Marcin Palys | European University Association (EUA) | Poland |
| Steering Board member | Dr. Irene Ramos-Vielba | Spanish National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA) | Spain |
| Steering Board member | Dr. Gabi Lombardo | European Alliance for SSH | Italy |
| Steering Board member | Prof. Cameron Neylon | Cutin University | Australia |
| Steering Board member | M. Hans de Jonge | NWO Dutch Research Council | The Netherlands |
| Steering Board member | Prof. Stanislaw Kistryn | Jagiellonian University | Poland |
| Steering Board | M. Janne Pölönen* | Federation of Finnish Learned Societies | Finland |
| Steering Board | Dr. Luciana Balboa* | Global Young Academy | Argentina |
*Steering Board members who continue on their terms and were not up for election this year
Prof. Henk Kummeling, who has served as Rector Magnificus of Utrecht University since 2018 and is a member of Coimbra Group, replaces the first acting CoARA Chair, Prof. Rianne Letschert, as the new CoARA Chair.
Dr. Karen Stroobants was re-elected as Vice-Chair, to serve alongside current Vice-Chair, Elizabeth Gadd. Six newly elected Steering Board members join current Steering Board members, M. Janne Pölönen and Dr. Luciana Balboa. Newly elected members include, Dr. Gabi Lombardo, Prof. Stanisław Kistryn, Prof. Marcin Palys, Dr. Irene Ramos-Vielba, Prof. Cameron Neylon, and M. Hans de Jonge. To ensure a diverse selection of candidates, balancing mechanisms were implemented as criteria for the election, in terms of types of organisations represented, geographic coverage, gender, and diversity of disciplines and expertise.
A diverse Steering Board indeed makes better decisions for a diverse community. There is great value in having expert voices in the CoARA governance who share insights from the study of research assessment practices as well as having those leaders on board who are in the position to drive change in research assessment in their organisations – and are committed to shape the reform both in their organisations as exemplary instances and on the level of a global coalition.
-Professor Rianne Letschert
Other key highlights from the meeting included a discussion on the Endorsement Framework for CoARA outputs, as well as a Financial Support Framework for the longterm sustainability of CoARA.
The General Assembly meeting of December 9th reflects the evolution of CoARA over the past two years, as captured in a statement by Professor Rianne Letschert,
During my time as Chair, CoARA has grown and evolved as a community. As Working Groups and National Chapters have created established communities of practices and the coalition now surpasses 700 members, CoARA has laid the groundwork for advancing more inclusive and effective research assessment practices. I am honoured to have been the first CoARA Chair to see the community through its foundational stage of development and to support its evolution.
The outgoing Steering Board members have played a vital role in shaping CoARA over the past two years in its nascent stages. We extend our deep appreciation to Prof. Toma Susi, Dr. Lidia Borrell-Damián, Dr. Sylvia Rousset, Dr. Eva Mendéz, Prof. Paul Boyle, and Prof. Menico Rizzi for their contributions to CoARA and we wish them all the best in their future endeavours!
Looking forward to the coming year, the Steering Board will be spearheaded by the newly elected Chair, Prof. Henk Kummeling, who will continue to shape the evolution of CoARA as memberships and outputs advance.
I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as Chair of CoARA during this pivotal phase in the Coalition’s development. With CoARA’s communities now established, we will build upon solid foundations to ensure the future prosperity and sustainability of CoARA. Leveraging my experience in both research and leadership of knowledge institutions, I am committed to supporting the vision of CoARA and its growing communities by driving actionable change.
-Professor Henk Kummeling, CoARA Chair
We look forward to working with the new Steering Board in 2025 and advancing research assessment form together!