A DORAat10 Local Event Report
In May 2023, DORA celebrated it’s 10th Anniversary with two plenary sessions and a decentralized weeklong program of local events organized by community members from around the world. Event organizers were given the option to write brief reports on their events that summarize key takeaways and recommendations.
By Li Xiaoxuan
To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the publication of The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), on May 19, 2023, the China Office of DORA International Scientific Research Evaluation Alliance, together with the Science and Technology Management and Evaluation Professional Committee of the Chinese Society for Science and Technology Policy Research Association, the Management Innovation and Evaluation Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, jointly organized the “National Science and Technology Management Innovation Seminar and DORA 10th Anniversary Commemorative Meeting” in Wuzhou Hotel, Beijing. The conference was conducted through a combination of online and offline methods, with over a hundred scholars from universities, scientific research institutions, societies, enterprises and overseas attended the conference.
Professor Xiaoxuan Li, Executive Committee of DORA and Director of the Management Innovation and Evaluation Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, introduced the origin of DORA and the background of this meeting to the attendees in his opening speech. Subsequently, all attendees watched the DORA 10th anniversary documentary video together . In the video, in response to the question of “What does DORA mean to me?”, Professor Stephen Curry, Chairman of the DORA Executive Committee, Professor Ginny Barbour, Vice Chairman, as well as some Executive Committee members Claire Moulton, Professor Bernd Pulverer, Professor Xiaoxuan Li, and Director Anna Hatch, etc., introduced their knowledge and understanding of DORA respectively, and expressed congratulations on the tenth anniversary of the DORA Declaration.
In the morning conference report session, Professor Liu Yun, Vice President of the School of Public Administration at National University of Science and Technology, Professor Li Xiaoxuan, Director of the Management Innovation and Evaluation Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor Wei Meng, President of the Institute of Public Administration of East China Normal University, Jian Wu, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Institute of Mathematics and Systems Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Qiuyi Guo, Associate Researcher of the Strategic Assessment Consulting Center of the military science, separately made theme reports focusing on hot issues of science and technology evaluation. Professor Ginny Barbour, Vice Chairman of the DORA International Scientific Research Evaluation Alliance, presented a report entitled “DORA at 10 years: what’s been developed and a look into the future” online, furthermore, sharing with attendees the development history of DORA over the past decade, the main work currently carried out and considerations for future development.
In the round-table discussion session in the afternoon, experts and scholars from universities, institutions, industries, and other fields focused on the issues and reforms of China’s science and technology evaluation, and put forward many constructive opinions and suggestions. For example, within the Bridge theoretical framework of combining quantitative and qualitative evaluation, how to give full play to the role of AI? How to better participate in international cooperation in global technology evaluation governance, actively speak up internationally, and propose solutions for China?, etc.
The one-day commemoration of DORA China has come to an end. The successful convening of this conference not only provides an exchange platform for the academic and practical levels of science and technology management and evaluation in China, but also enables scholars in the field of science and technology evaluation in China to have a deeper understanding of DORA Declaration and DORA Organization. At the same time, just as the views expressed in the discussion of the participants at the meeting, the concept advocated by DORA of “avoiding excessive use of quantitative indicators such as journal impact factors in science and technology evaluation” is consistent with the concept of China’s science and technology evaluation reform represented by “breaking the four virtues” since 2018. The attendees strongly agree with DORA’s vision and stated that in future research and management, new breakthroughs in technology evaluation methods should be actively explored based on China’s national conditions and practical issues. Meanwhile, everyone will continue to pay attention to the future development of DORA organization, expecting to bring international wisdom to China through DORA organization, in the process, feeding back the international scientific and technological community and providing Chinese wisdom.
