We support CoARA

The international Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) was driven by the European Commission and UKRI, and is part of a series of agreements which are driving cultural change regarding responsible research assessment, both within the UK HE sector and internationally.  

Their agreement - The Agreement for Reforming Research Assessment - is a broad, global and shared commitment seeking to improve the assessment research and researchers. It is a key opportunity for collaborative learning and sharing of best practice towards improving the quality and integrity of our research, and equality and inclusivity in research careers.

In addition to the four core commitments as shown above, six additional supporting commitments seek to ensure change in these areas. View all ten commitments We already fully or partly adhere to these commitments.

As of Autumn 2025, over 800 organisations worldwide and 30 in the UK have signed. In addition to a number of Russell Group universities, UK signatories include the Wellcome Trust, UKRI, the UK Research Integrity Office (UKRIO) and UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN).    

We signed the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment in 2020, which committed us to not using journal-based metrics, such as journal impact factors as surrogate measures of the quality of an individual’s research. The CoARA agreement (commitment 3) therefore closely aligns with DORA, but broadens the scope to non-citation-based metrics, and strengthens the use of qualitative (i.e. peer-based) evaluations of research as primary approach for assessment.  

In addition, CoARA (commitment 4) explicitly discourages the use of organisational rankings for assessing research. This commitment echoes the INORMS initiative, More Than Our Rank, which has highlighted some of the problematic features and effects of global university rankings. 

CoARA requires signatories to act, through the development of a plan, but also provides the flexibility for signatories to choose which elements of the commitments they wish to focus on and in their own timeframe. Joining CoARA provides opportunities to network, learn and share best practice with other members across the globe. CoARA therefore provides the template and fora for actionable change. 

Benefits for individual researchers 

The Responsible Metrics Champions Group have already put in place guidance which seeks to ensure colleagues are assessed fairly in promotion and recruitment. Colleagues can also report to the group when they feel their research has not been assessed responsibly.  

CoARA reinforces elements of our Exeter Academic promotions criteria, such as the value placed on describing the contribution and the rationale for the quality of the work, as well as the value placed on academic citizenship, providing colleagues with the backing of a tangible commitment if they feel their research has been assessed unfairly  

Signing the CoARA agreement means all colleagues assessing the research of others need to ensure they are doing this in line with our commitments, thus helping to improve our research culture by making the research environment fairer for all.  

Puts us on the front-foot for REF2029 
 
A report from the UK’s Future of Research Assessment Programme (FRAP) entitled Harnessing the Metric Tide has specifically recommended that all UK universities consider joining CoARA. Moreover, the REF2029 code of practice explicitly states that ‘The funding bodies expect institutions to adopt responsible research assessment practices in the selection of outputs for submission’, with both DoRA and CoARA noted as established frameworks for consideration in this process.   
 
Aligns with Strategy 2030 and increases our research quality  
 
Joining CoARA makes research assessment practices fairer and more transparent, helping attract and retain the best researchers regardless of career stage, discipline or interdisciplinary research area. It also signals a commitment to recognition of all careers as highlighted in the Our People section of Strategy 2030. 

Becoming a signatory also supports existing commitments such as Open Research, Research Integrity and Reproducibility as demonstrated through our UKRN membership and Strategy 2030 Research and Innovation commitment that ‘Our research excellence will be underpinned and enhanced by an open, ethical and supportive research culture and environment’.  

Aligns with our funders and partners’ priorities – nationally and internationally 

Signing and joining CoARA to our partners and funders our commitment to responsible research assessment and how we seek to foster positive research cultures for all our colleagues – topics that are of increasing importance. Examples include the Government’s Research and Development People and Culture Strategy; the UKRI’s strategy and related initiatives – such as the roll out of the UKRI Résumé for Research and Innovation narrative CV for UKRI funding opportunities – and Wellcome’s Reimagine Research initiative. 

Internationally, it was the European Commission, Science Europe and the European University Association which formed the Interim Secretariat that facilitated the development of the Agreement, with the European Commission also being a signatory and member of the Coalition. 

The increasing global reach of CoARA also offers reputational benefits, signalling to our existing and future global partners our work in this area. 

Having signed the agreement we are required to produce an Action Plan within a year, which is reviewed after five years. As a member, we will also consider how we wish to engage with CoARA going forward. 

If you are interested in getting involved, please contact r.s.euesden@exeter.ac.uk