Coalition for Reforming Research Assessment (CoARA)
The Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) is an international initiative dedicated to the fair, transparent and high-quality development of scientific research assessment. The University of Potsdam and the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences also support CoARA’s principles in order to promote a modern, responsible research culture. To implement the CoARA principles, a university-wide, interdisciplinary working group chaired by Prof. Ralph Gräf has been set up. It is analysing existing procedures and drawing up recommendations for a forward-looking approach to research evaluation. As a signatory to CoARA, the University of Potsdam has drawn up and published a provisional action plan to promote research evaluation. You can find this provisional action plan here.
The aim is to evaluate research in such a way that it is not only bibliometric indicators such as the impact factor, h-index or the volume of third-party funding that count, but also places greater emphasis on scientific quality, transparency and societal relevance. In this way, we support researchers in making innovative, interdisciplinary and sustainable contributions. In the mathematical and natural sciences, performance-based evaluation systems have become established that focus heavily on metrics such as the Impact Factor, h-index, citation counts or the volume of third-party funding.
However, these metrics offer only limited insight. CoARA does not replace quantitative indicators, but calls for them to be used in a context-sensitive manner and supplemented by qualitative assessments. The aim is a balanced research evaluation that takes scientific quality, openness and societal relevance into account in equal measure.
For the Faculty of Sciences, CoARA offers the opportunity to combine international standards with subject-specific evaluation practices.
The aim is not a loss, but a gain in precision, fairness and meaningfulness. Excellence remains at the heart of the process – it is simply assessed in a more nuanced and contemporary manner.
The MNF invites all members to play an active role in shaping the future of research evaluation – transparently, in a transdisciplinary manner and collaboratively.
Get involved & stay informed:
Members of our faculty who wish to play an active role in shaping the future of research evaluation or would like to find out more can register at CoARA-mnf[at]uni-potsdam.de. This will ensure they receive the latest information, details of opportunities to get involved and notifications of planned events.