Agreement for Reforming Research Assessment (ARRA)

Abstract

The European Commission's Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment (ARRA) advocates for a comprehensive overhaul of research evaluation practices to enhance the quality and impact of research. A key element of this reform is the provision of incentives and rewards to adopt Open Science practices.

The ARRA emphasizes acknowledging a broad spectrum of research outputs, including publications, data sets, software, and other contributions that embody open science principles. It advocates for assessments grounded primarily in qualitative evaluations, with peer review playing a pivotal role. This approach is complemented by the responsible use of quantitative indicators, ensuring that open science endeavors are appropriately valued.

Under the European Research Area Policy Agenda, the Commission has been facilitating the development of the Agreement for Reforming Research Assessment (ARRA) and the coalition of the signatories, the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA). The Commission has signed the ARRA, joined CoARA, and established an Action Plan to implement the ARRA.

Overview

Country	European Union
Start date	2022
Annual Budget	n/a
Responsible organisation(s)	Academic cooperation
Target group(s)	organisations involved in research assessment
Policy instrument type	framework agreement among signatories

Background

The ARRA was developed as a response to growing calls for fairer and more comprehensive research evaluation systems that reflect the diversity of research contributions. It is rooted in the principles of open science, inclusivity, and societal impact, aligning with broader European and global efforts to modernize research assessment. By fostering a culture of openness and rewarding diverse contributions, the ARRA aims to support the long-term goals of innovation, collaboration, and public engagement in research.

The process of drafting an agreement for reforming research assessment was launched in January 2022 as a co-creation exercise. On 8 July, the final version of the agreement was presented at a Stakeholder Assembly bringing together the 350+ organisations from 40+ countries having expressed interest in being involved in the process. The final Agreement was made public in July 2022.

The Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) is a collective of organisations committed to reforming the methods and processes by which research, researchers, and research organisations are evaluated. CoARA is governed by a General Assembly and a Steering Board, with administrative support from the CoARA Secretariat hosted by the European Science Foundation (ESF) to manage the Coalition’s daily operations.

In the context of the CoARA Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment, signatory organisations (this incl. also member organisations) are invited to share with the community how their organisation has started the process of implementing the Core Commitments according to an Action Plan with defined milestones within one year of signing the Agreement.

Signatories of this agreement agree to regularly demonstrate progress towards reviewing, developing and evaluating criteria, tools and processes that fulfil the core commitments, with a touch point at end of 2027 or within five years of signing the agreement

Objective(s)

aims to incentivize researchers to engage in open science activities, thereby fostering a culture of openness and collaboration.

The ARRA was developed with the following key objectives:

- Broadening Research Assessment Criteria: To move beyond narrow metrics and include diverse research outputs such as datasets, software, and societal contributions.

- Recognizing Open Science Efforts: To incentivize practices such as sharing research data, publishing in open access, and engaging with the public.

- Encouraging Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Work: To reduce bias against non-traditional or interdisciplinary research.

- Aligning Incentives: To ensure that researchers’ efforts in contributing to open and impactful science are valued in career progression, funding decisions, and institutional evaluations.

Public access URL

https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/document/download/bd53d467-0220-4c9d-8b63-26eb56303ba1_en

All tags

• Incentives & Rewards
• European Union
• 2022
• Academic cooperation
• Higher education institutes
• Public research institutes
• Private R&D
• Strategies, agendas and plans
• Measures for recognition and reward

This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member countries of the OECD.

This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.

© OECD 2025

   Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. By using this work, you accept to be bound by the terms of this licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Attribution – you must cite the work.

Translations – you must cite the original work, identify changes to the original and add the following text: In the event of any discrepancy between the original work and the translation, only the text of original work should be considered valid.

Adaptations – you must cite the original work and add the following text: This is an adaptation of an original work by the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed in this adaptation should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its Member countries.

Third-party material – the licence does not apply to third-party material in the work. If using such material, you are responsible for obtaining permission from the third party and for any claims of infringement.

You must not use the OECD logo, visual identity or cover image without express permission or suggest the OECD endorses your use of the work.

Any dispute arising under this licence shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Arbitration Rules 2012. The seat of arbitration shall be Paris (France). The number of arbitrators shall be one.