Short abstract

Research assessment is an essential part of the scientific system. We will present ongoing RoRI research which explores the past, present, and future of research assessment systems globally, including a new typology of national assessment systems and a survey of Global Research Council funders.

Long abstract

There have been many proposed changes to the way we assess research, with an increased focus on so-called 'responsible research assessment' (RRA).

RoRI's AGORRA project is to our knowledge, the first large-scale project comparing developments in assessment reform around the world.

In this presentation we will briefly present results of recent and ongoing AGORRA workstreams, including: a new typology for comparing national assessment systems, a longitudinal comparison of changes to systems of 13 countries around the world, and a recent survey of Global Research Council participants invited funders from across the globe to answer questions about how they assess research.

Our headline finding is that although responsible research assessment marks a potential paradigm shift away from purely disciplinary and excellence-based research performance paradigms, most national assessment systems and funding agencies are still strongly focused on conventional and long-established modes of evaluating scholarly quality.

Despite this continuity, principles of RRA are gaining increasing importance. But rather than a whole-scale paradigm shift, we are witnessing 'layering' of RRA ideas and practices onto existing assessment systems.

Critically, we also find there is no single or uniform RRA ‘pathway’: different funders and assessment systems pursue RRA in multiple ways, to varying degrees, and with different emphases.