Reforming Research Assessment at Leibniz University Hannover

LUH signed the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment (ARRA) in December 2022. It has thus joined over 600 other research institutions and sponsors of the Coalition for the Advancement on Research Assessment (CoARA). LUH has been a member of COARA since February 2024 and joined the German National Chapter as a founding member in March 2024.

LUH is a member of the European university network CESAER^[1], which has also signed the ARRA. In view of the fact that all stakeholders in the evaluation process must work together to drive a global reform, CoARA is a unique initiative that can lead to coordinated joint activities at a global level beyond the mere formulation of objectives. CoARA builds on ongoing discussions of more than ten years. A key point of criticism is the excessive importance of journal publications in research evaluation combined with a lack of appreciation for other research outputs. In May 2022, the DFG clearly positioned itself on the problems of prestige-driven publishing^[2].

The growing interest in Open Science and its increasing political importance has further highlighted the need to change the culture of science assessment. An essential component of Open Science guidelines such as those of UNESCO is therefore the reference to the need for change in the scientific evaluation culture ("Encouraging responsible research and researcher evaluation and assessment practices, which incentivize quality science, recognizing the diversity of research outputs, activities and missions."). The current reform of research assessment and the Open Science movement have similar goals: They aim to create a culture of openness, transparency and diversity.

Several existing policies already support the implementation of responsible research assessment at LUH, e.g. the Open Science Strategy^[3] and the Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Scientific Practice^[4]. Our Research Information Management System^[5] (RIMS) Pure is an important building block in the recognition of the diverse practices and activities connected to research by displaying diverse contributions to research.

This Action Plan is a result of the initial discussions at LUH on the implementation of the ARRA. It is expected to be expanded as the discussion process continues.
The Action Plan will be reviewed at regular intervals