University College London

University College London (UCL) has two new responsible research development and assessment policies: the Academic Careers Framework¹ and Responsible use of bibliometrics at UCL².

Approved in 2018, UCL’s Academic Careers Framework was designed as a versatile tool to support career progression. While the framework can be used by researchers looking to build a case for promotion, it is also a resource for those assessing promotion cases. The framework seeks to ensure that personal impact is evaluated consistently across the university. To do that, it establishes core and specialized criteria and activities across disciplines and grades. The framework also includes examples of “Indicators of Impact” to be used during career assessments.

In 2020 UCL’s Academic Committee approved a responsible use of bibliometrics policy, which “aims to balance the benefits and limitations of bibliometric use to create a framework for the responsible use of bibliometrics at UCL.”² The policy is based on 11 principles for the responsible use of bibliometrics, and the principles are founded on UCL’s “commitment to valuing research and researchers based on their own merits, not the merits of metrics.”² These documents are not yet comprehensive; UCL views them as part of a growing body of material to improve academic development and assessment processes.

Internal discussions among faculty and staff about improving academic culture by embracing Open Science ultimately helped lead to the development of new policies at UCL. One of the goals was to describe and codify the concepts of academic “excellence” and “quality” in an Open Science environment.

At the same time external factors, such as the European Commission’s support for Open Science and the national academic assessment exercise in the United Kingdom, the Research Excellence Framework (REF), prompted further reflection that drove UCL to respond to the internal discussions about Open Science and academic culture that were happening on campus.

In addition to promoting Open Science principles, the Academic Careers Framework was developed to facilitate better recognition and rewards that promote the university’s wider ambitions for research, education, and innovation. The Framework “seeks to describe and codify the types of activity that may feature within an academic career, at an individual grade, and across grades over time.”¹

The bibliometrics policy was created, in part, to provide guidance for the appropriate and responsible use of bibliometrics. Another motivation for the bibliometrics policy was to establish equity and fairness by creating a policy that is “deliberately broad and flexible to take account of the diversity of context.”²

According to survey results no significant barriers were identified in implementing this policy, because the new policies mirrored requirements in the REF.

The dynamic for change at UCL was stimulated at the top with the Vice-Provost (Education and Student Affairs) initiating the Academic Careers Framework¹ and the Pro-Vice-Provost (Library Services) leading the development of the Bibliometrics policy². However, development of both policies involved extensive consultation with, and buy-in from, the larger academic community.

The Pro-Vice-Provost (Library Services) was appointed in 2018 as an independent leader to promote Open Science in the university. The establishment of the open access UCL Press in 2015 and the UCL Research Data Repository in 2019 demonstrated that Open Science solutions could be delivered for the university. The success of UCL Press is also perceived as having made faculty members more willing to discuss new Open Science approaches.

Task and finish working groups contributed to the development of the Academic Careers Framework and Bibliometrics policy. Specifically, the Bibliometrics policy at UCL was created through extensive and iterative rounds of consultation and revision. The working group engaged with the UCL community in several different ways: direct consultation (in person and in writing), hosting department-specific meetings, surveys, and town halls. Coalition-building across departments was essential, but it also required significant time and energy. The Pro-Vice-Provost (Library Services) and his team arranged in-person meetings with around 50 of the 72 departments to identify specific barriers to research assessment reform and determine what other modes of evaluation they would prefer.

The Academic Careers Framework took two years to complete and was released in 2018. A draft version of the Responsible Use of Bibliometrics at UCL policy was produced in 2017 and circulated among the Bibliometrics Working Group. This draft was revised and updated during 2018 and presented to the UCL community at a town-hall session in December 2018.³ The policy was revised according to feedback from the town hall before a more extensive consultation process began.

Throughout spring and summer 2019 the working group continued to consult with university departments. The policy then went through constant revision. The entire process took approximately 2 years. The final policy was presented to and approved by the UCL Academic Committee in February 2020.