Today, the UKRN’s OR4 project* releases a new report that describes the UK landscape of responsible researcher assessment, with a particular focus on open research. The evidence comes from a detailed survey, led by Robert Darby from the University of Reading, and is the most comprehensive review so far on this topic. The report reveals that around three quarters of the 60 institutions that responded to the survey are taking strategic action to reform how they assess researchers. This suggests that initiatives such as DORA, Leiden and CoARA have been highly effective in initiating change, perhaps more so than the raw number of their signatories implies. However, recognition for openness and transparency in research – key components in the Concordat to Support Research Integrity – does not yet feature significantly in the reforms being adopted by UK institutions. This reinforces the value of the OR4 project, which is already working to address this explicitly.
Candy Rowe, lead of the OR4 team and Dean of Research Culture and Strategy at Newcastle University, said, “It’s so important that the UK research system rewards the ways we do research, including how researchers develop and employ open research practices. This landscape report is snapshot of where we are today and where improvements can be made in the future. The OR4 team are already working with 45 UK universities to support them in reflecting on and evaluating their current practices, and piloting tools that could help accelerate change. We hope to see that the OR4 project has made a step change in researcher assessment around open research when we repeat this survey in a few years’ time.”
Grace Murkett, University of Strathclyde co-lead for the new UK National Chapter of CoARA, said, “there is a global movement to reform research assessment. Through initiatives such as OR4, the UK is playing a leading role in that. This report will directly inform the work of the new UK CoARA National Chapter, particularly with regards to ensuring that researchers in the UK research system can be confident that their open research practices will be recognised and rewarded wherever their career takes them next.”
Catriona Firth, Associate Director for Research Environment at Research England, said. ‘this report provides the sector with a clear picture of both responsible research assessment and, in particular, how its practices currently recognise open research. As a funder, we look forward to working both nationally, including with the OR4 project, and internationally to improve practice further over the next few years.”
*The OR4 Project is a part of the UKRN Open Research Programme, which is supported by the Research England Development Fund.