Resource Library

We are pleased to share two slide decks designed to support the implementation of “A Practical Guide to Implementing Responsible Research Assessment at Research Funding Organizations” (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18402271). RFO Practical Guide Overview Deck This slide deck presents an overview of the Guide, its aims and origins, a brief introduction to RRA, and a run through of…

"A Practical Guide to Implementing Responsible Research Assessment at Research Funding Organizations" provides action-oriented guidance, resources, and illustrative examples, for research funding organizations (RFOs) who are looking to shape and deliver responsible research assessment (RRA) practices.

“Implementing Responsible Research Assessment at RFOs: Quick-Reference Sheets from the Practical Guide” is a set of concise, action-oriented resources designed to support RFOs to engage with RRA and catalyze action. The one-page Reference Sheets provide a highly distilled summary of each section of the full Practical Guide for Research Funding Organizations, covering: Introduction to the Guide…

“Implementing Responsible Research Assessment at RFOs: Informational Briefs from the Practical Guide” is a set of three tailored resources designed to support key audiences of the Guide to engage with RRA and catalyze action. These briefs are inspired by and complement the full Practical Guide to Implementing Responsible Research Assessment at Research Funding Organizations. The three…

This guide, “Writing and Evaluating Narrative CVs,” is the one of three resources from the Breaking Barriers to Research Funding Applications project led by the University of Surrey, funded by UKRI/BA EDI Caucus. Authored by Fabio Fasoli, Hannah Frith, Susan Hutton, and Noelia Noel, it provides evidence-based guidance on how language in Narrative CVs affects both…

This concept map, “Barriers and Facilitators to Adopting Narrative CVs by Underrepresented Researchers,” is one of three resources from the Breaking Barriers to Research Funding Applications project led by the University of Surrey, funded by UKRI/BA EDI Caucus. Authored by Hannah Frith, Fabio Fasoli, Noelia Noel, and Susan Hutton, it presents a visual diagram developed from…

This report, “Working Together for Effective Narrative CVs: Insights, Challenges, and Next Steps,” is one of three resources from the Breaking Barriers to Research Funding Applications project led by the University of Surrey, funded by UKRI/BA EDI Caucus. It documents a June 2025 online workshop, co-organized with DORA, that brought together 14 participants, including underrepresented researchers, professional staff,…

This is part of DORA’s toolkit of resources to support academic institutions that are improving their policies and practices. Find other resources in the toolkit here. “Implementing Responsible Research Assessment at RPOs: Informational Briefs from the Practical Guide” is a set of three tailored resources designed to support diverse audiences connected to Research Performing Organizations (RPOs)…

This is part of DORA’s toolkit of resources to support academic institutions that are improving their policies and practices. Find other resources in the toolkit here. “Implementing Responsible Research Assessment at RPOs: Quick-Reference Sheets from the Practical Guide” is a set of concise, action-oriented resources designed to support Research Performing Organizations (RPOs) in adopting and advancing…

We are pleased to share two comprehensive slide decks designed to support the implementation of A Practical Guide to Implementing Responsible Research Assessment at Research Performing Organizations (more here). These slides are freely available for download and can be adapted to suit your specific needs. Both include detailed speaker notes to facilitate delivery. Institutional Presentation…

This document provides guidance on the use of several indicators (sometimes called metrics) used in research assessment: the Journal Impact Factor and other measurements of journals, citation counts, h-index, field-normalized citation indicators, and altmetrics. Five principles guide the use of these metrics: be clear, be transparent, be specific, be contextual, and be fair.

"A Practical Guide to Implementing Responsible Research Assessment at Research Performing Organizations" provides action-oriented guidance, resources, and illustrative examples, for research performing organizations (RPOs) who are looking to shape and deliver responsible research assessment (RRA) practices. This includes RPOs who are looking to create an RRA strategy, organizations wanting to reform existing practices, and organizations simply wanting to take steps towards more holistic and inclusive approaches to research assessment.

These short educational videos in animated and talking head formats provide an introduction to the h-index, a commonly used scholarly metric for assessing authors’ publication output and citation impact. The videos explain how the h-index is calculated, how it is used to assess researchers, and its key limitations. They highlight important considerations, such as disciplinary…

This book critically analyses the value of citation data, altmetrics, and artificial intelligence to support the research evaluation of articles, scholars, departments, universities, countries, and funders. It introduces and discusses indicators that can support research evaluation and analyses their strengths and weaknesses as well as the generic strengths and weaknesses of the use of indicators…

This internal report for the University of Waikato investigates researchers’ perspectives on metrics and their influence on research impact, highlighting a multifaceted view of the role these metrics play in the academic landscape. While researchers generally acknowledged the usefulness of metrics, they were concerned about the over-reliance on these metrics, which can lead to a…

This document from UNESCO is a roadmap for higher education, prepared for the “3rd World Higher Education Conference (WHEC2022).” Within the roadmap are “signposts for co-creating more open, inclusive, equitable and collaborative higher education systems that democratize access and knowledge.” Recognizing the evolution of and advancements in higher education, UNESCO has outlined 5 sections discussing…

This repository contains resources for faculty and academic units that are working to transform how faculty are rewarded and evaluated for promotion and tenure, with the aim of promoting inclusivity via open science practices. This “Impact as Access” approach entails access to all aspects of research, including data sharing, direct involvement in research, and access…

The More Than Our Rank scheme and SCOPE Framework for Research Evaluation, launched by the International Network of Research Management Societies Research Evaluation Group (INORMS REG), are initiatives that both have a focus on equity in academia and research. More Than Our Rank aims to address the limitations of global university rankings and encourage academic…

There is a growing recognition that current evaluation metrics often fail to capture the breadth and depth of research impact. In hopes of addressing the reform needed in the research world the Global Young Academy, the InterAcademy Partnership, and the International Science Council have collaborated in conducting a global assessment of research evaluation perspectives. Their…

This is part of DORA’s toolkit of resources to support academic institutions that are improving their policies and practices. Find the other resources in the toolkit here. Building Blocks for Impact is a one-pager that outlines and illustrates the wide variety of academic achievements and outcomes that could be considered “impactful”. This model visualizes “impact” on…

This is part of DORA’s toolkit of resources to support academic institutions that are improving their policies and practices. Find the other resources in the toolkit here. Debiasing Committee Composition and Deliberative Processes is a one-page brief that identifies strategies for including more perspectives and reducing biases in the evaluation processes for hiring, promotion, tenure, and…

This is part of DORA’s toolkit of resources to support academic institutions that are improving their policies and practices. Find the other resources in the toolkit here. With thanks to volunteers in the DORA community, most resources in the workshop kit are also available in Spanish. See below. This kit is intended to equip organizers…

Ruth Schmidt and colleagues explain how systems thinking can advance responsible research assessment. In an infographic format, they identify external forces that reinforce the use of the Journal Impact (JIF) as a surrogate measure for research quality in academic career advancement, despite its well documented deficiencies as a tool for research assessment. By demonstrating schematically…

This is part of DORA’s toolkit of resources to support academic institutions that are improving their policies and practices. Find the other resources in the toolkit here.   Balanced, broad, responsible: A practical guide for research evaluators is a short, informative video that is accompanied by a one-page brief. The video and document are meant…

This is part of DORA’s toolkit of resources to support academic institutions that are improving their policies and practices. Find the other resources in the toolkit here. With thanks to volunteers in the DORA community, SPACE is also available in Catalan and Spanish. See below. Improving research and scholarship assessment practices requires the ability to…