Blog

As the global conversation around responsible research assessment continues to evolve, so does DORA: 2026 is the last year of our current strategic plan! So, we begin developing DORA’s next Strategic Plan for 2027-2030, which will set the direction for our work over the coming years. Central to this process is listening carefully to the...

Following our global call for new Steering Committee members in October 2025, DORA is delighted to announce the appointment of eight new at‑large members and three new Supporting Organization representatives to the Steering Committee. The response to our global call for at-large members was extraordinary: 213 self‑nominations, from over 70 countries, spanning all regions and...

DORA is delighted to announce the launch of its Introduction to Responsible Research Assessment Course. This online, self-paced course provides an approachable, entry-level curriculum for anyone at any career stage and in a variety of roles to learn about responsible research assessment (RRA). The course is free for individuals to take but it requires registration,...

Guest post by Matías Alcantara, from CLACSO-FOLEC. On December 11, 2025, the Bogotá Manifesto: Towards Open, Democratic, and Socially Relevant Science in Latin America and the Caribbean was publicly launched in a virtual event organized by CLACSO. This collective document marks a milestone for the region in advancing the transformation of knowledge production systems and...

DORA is thrilled to announce an important stride in advancing Responsible Research Assessment (RRA) in Brazil, with potential benefits to the Lusophone world. On December 10, 2025, following months of intense collaboration with the University of São Paulo (USP) and Projeto Métricas, we officially launched the Portuguese translation of the Practical Guide for Implementing Responsible...

Cross-published with CoARA. With an aim to strengthen a global culture of responsible research assessment and drive impact through aligned principles, DORA is pleased to announce a joint statement released with the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA). The official joint statement is the result of years of collaborative efforts between the two initiatives and...

International community convenes in Pisa to advance coordinated reform in publishing and research assessment Cross-posted with International Science Council (ISC) , ASAPbio and CWTS. On 14 November 2025, representatives from several organizations across the publishing reform and research assessment reform communities gathered in Pisa, Italy, for a workshop aimed at identifying and advancing joint actions...

DORA is opening a global call for new Steering Committee members. We are seeking up to 8 committed individuals from around the world—particularly from Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean—to help shape the future of responsible research assessment. We would love to have your self-nomination! Over the last decade, DORA has grown into...

We are pleased to announce the formation of DORA’s new Executive Board, composed of three members of our Steering Committee: Sandra Bendiscioli (EMBO), Roheena Anand (PLOS), and Stuart Lane (SNSF). They join Co-Chairs Ginny Barbour (QUT), Kelly Cobey (University of Ottawa Heart Institute) and Vice-Chair Rebecca Lawrence (F1000). The Executive Board plays a vital role...

We’re excited to announce a new accessibility feature on the DORA website: optional automatic translations powered by Google Translate. This enhancement is part of our ongoing commitment to making our content more accessible and inclusive for our global community. Why This Matters Language should never be a barrier to accessing important information. By enabling automatic...

The DORA team is excited to have celebrated its 12th anniversary with the launch of a Practical Guide, to help research performing organizations (RPOs) develop responsible research assessment (RRA). This Guide is designed to support RPOs aiming to build capacity and support the implementation of responsible research assessment (RRA) practices. The Guide reflects a collective...

The DORA team is excited to invite you to celebrate DORA's 12th birthday with the launch of a “A Practical Guide to Implementing Responsible Research Assessment at Research Performing Organizations” (download here). In three online panel sessions, DORA’s Chairs will introduce the guide, and guest speakers will discuss it in light of the specific contributions...

The Research on Research Institute (RoRI) is hosting the 2025 Metascience Conference from June 30 to July 2 at UCL, London, UK. The Global Summit will include 650 speakers and participants from the diverse metascience community "to share ideas and the latest evidence and methods, and foster a culture of continuous experimentation and learning." Read...

Funding organisations are increasingly working to address inequalities in the grant life cycle. However, until recently, less attention has been paid to inequalities at the pre-award stage — which includes announcing opportunities, and preparing, submitting and reviewing applications. A 2022-23 project on this topic, led by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute at the University of Bristol...

There is an active discussion now about the role of scholarly bibliographic databases, how they affect what is counted in research and thus how they influence how researchers are assessed and in turn how innovation in research and publishing is supported. An international group has proposed four criteria for innovation-friendly bibliographic databases. 1️⃣Recognize diversity in...

DORA is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Giovanna Lima to the position of DORA Program Manager. She joins DORA after recent roles at Erasmus University, Rotterdam as Impact and Recognition & Rewards Senior Project Officer and at Trinity College, Dublin as Research Impact Officer. She has a PhD and Master’s degree in Public...

Today, DORA is announcing an update to its policy for organizational signatories. What is the new policy? Beginning on January 1, 2025, organizations and institutions that sign DORA will need to submit a public statement at the time of signing to be approved. Previously, organizations were asked to post a public statement when they signed...

  Publishing requires constant innovation and renewal in order for it to remain relevant. eLife has disrupted the traditional model of scholarly publishing: since its inception, innovation and academic-led publishing have been at the core of eLife's policies and processes. Presently, their peer review model requires submissions to be preprinted prior to peer review, followed...

DORA has hit a new milestone by reaching the 25,000 signature mark. Each of those thousands of signatures represents an individual or organization that supports the principles of the original San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment, drafted in 2013. Most signatures are from individuals, with QQ percent from various organizations, including universities, departments and libraries...

Announcements Reformscape in Full Swing Since its release in January, Reformscape has been serving the research community in providing 230 documents encouraging openness & transparency. New documents and information continue to be added and are always publicly available. Upgrades have also been made to make the platform more user-friendly. You can now search for responsible...

The Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) came into being to try to end the misuse of the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) in the evaluation of research and researchers and has achieved considerable success in advancing reform of assessment practices. However, there are a number of other quantitative indicators derived from publishing activity which are used...

DORA seeks self-nominations for Steering Committee members based in Asia. DORA is a global initiative dedicated to the improvement of research assessment. Almost 25,000 individuals and organizations worldwide have signed DORA in the last decade, including research institutions, funders, and government agencies. The Steering Committee supports and shapes DORA’s mission and vision, as outlined in...

In February 2022, DORA organized the online workshop series “Using Narrative CVs: Identifying shared objectives and monitoring effectiveness” in partnership with FORGEN CoP, Science Foundation Ireland, the Swiss National Science Foundation, UK Research and Innovation, and the University of Bristol, Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research. The aim of the workshop was to develop a...

Each year, DORA reflects on progress toward responsible research assessment. How is research valued in different communities and how might that have changed in 2023? What tools are the community creating to support policy development? What types of research assessment policies are being developed to reduce the influence of journal-based metrics and recognize a broad...

Announcements Farewells, Welcomes, and Exciting News Bidding farewell to Chair Stephen CurrySince October 2017, Stephen Curry has been Chair of DORA, acting as an advocate for equitable and responsible research assessment. Read his farewell address here. Welcoming the new Co-Chairs and Vice-Chair As of November 2023, Ginny Barbour of Queensland University of Technology, and Kelly Cobey...