DORA Newsletter Jun. 2021

Announcing SPACE to Evolve Academic Assessment

DORA is delighted to share “SPACE to Evolve Academic Assessment: A rubric for analyzing institutional progress indicators and conditions for success.” The SPACE rubric was developed as a tool to assist universities at any stage of academic assessment reform analyze their ability to support interventions to improve assessment and set them up for success.

We are grateful to the nearly 75 individuals in 26 countries and 6 continents who shared insights, experiences, and feedback that informed the development of the SPACE rubric! Thanks also go to DORA’s partner on the project Ruth Schmidt, Associate Professor at the Institute of Design of the Illinois Institute of Technology, who led the participatory design process for the rubric.

Organizations can use the SPACE rubric in two ways. First, it can help establish a baseline for the current state of infrastructural conditions, to gauge an institution’s ability to support the development and implementation of new academic assessment practices and activities. Second, the rubric can be used to retroactively analyze how strengths or gaps in these institutional conditions may have impacted the outcomes of concrete interventions targeted to specific types of academic assessment activities either helping or hindering progress toward those goals.

Join us on Thursday, July 1, 2021, or Thursday, July 8, 2021, for a community call to help shape different contexts for use of the SPACE rubric. Panelists will share insights learned in piloting the rubric, and everyone will have a chance to ask questions, share ideas, and engage in dialogue as we continue to learn as a community. The goal of the discussion is to consider various use cases and surface any challenges or unintended consequences. The community call will take place over two meetings to accommodate as many time zones as possible. Please feel welcome to register for one or both calls.

Community call #1
Date: Thursday, July 1, 2021
Time: 10:30 – 12:00 PM EDT (2:30 – 4:00 PM Coordinated Universal Time)

Community call #2
Date: Thursday, July 8, 2021
Time: 9:00 – 10:00 AM AEST (11:00 PM July 8 – 12:30 AM July 9 Coordinated Universal Time)


A new case study: The Latin American Forum for Research Assessment

The Latin American Forum for Research Assessment (FOLEC) has been added as a new case study in the “Reimagining Academic Assessment: stories of innovation and change” repository. The international initiative is bringing together individuals and organizations in 52 countries to create a common regional proposal on research assessment. Learn about the progress and change happening in Latin America and the Caribbean here.


Join us for an upcoming webinar to discuss how preprints are being incorporated into academic hiring and assessment practices

DORA, in collaboration with ASAPbio, is pleased to announce a joint webinar to explore the incorporation of preprints into academic assessment. Join us on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, to learn about the value of considering preprints in academic assessment, how they can be included in existing assessment processes, and what challenges may arise along the way. Speakers include Needhi Bhalla (University of California, Santa Cruz), Denis Bourguet and Thomas Guillemaud (Peer Community In), and Sarvenaz Sarabipour (Johns Hopkins University).

Date: Tuesday, June 29, 2021
Time:   12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT │ 5:00 – 6:00 PM BST │7:00 – 8:00 PM EAT


New blog post. Promoting trustworthy research: can the COVID-19 pandemic change how data is recognized and rewarded when assessing researchers?

In May of 2021, DORA, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Principles (HKP), held a joint webinar to explore whether data sharing during the COVID-19 pandemic might bring about new standards and norms for assessing researchers. Panelists considered the outcomes of data sharing and discussed where and how data fits into the larger relationship between research integrity and researcher assessment. The webinar is summarized in an accompanying blog post here.


Join an upcoming meeting to discuss review and feedback on preprints

Join ASAPbio in partnership with DORA, HHMI, & the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative on July 21 for #FeedbackASAP, a virtual meeting to grow preprint review. Take concrete action with new initiatives, help build cultural norms, & propose and lead your own breakout sessions.

Haley Hazlett
Dr. Haley Hazlett has been DORA's Program Manager since 2021. She was a DORA Policy Intern before taking the role of Program Manager. She obtained her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology in 2021 and is passionate about improving research culture for all researchers.

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