Developed by an international group of researchers, funders, publishers, infrastructure providers, and reform advocates who participated in a workshop held in Pisa in November 2025, this paper calls for stronger coordination between research assessment and scholarly publishing reform movements. The effort was convened and led by ASAPbio, CWTS, DORA, and the International Science Council (ISC), bringing together contributors from across the global research ecosystem.
Research assessment and scholarly publishing are deeply interconnected, shaping the incentives and norms that determine what research is produced, communicated, and rewarded. Both systems are currently undergoing reform, but these efforts largely proceed in parallel rather than in coordination, despite sharing similar goals and challenges. This creates real risks: fragmented reform can duplicate effort and send inconsistent signals to researchers and institutions, ultimately slowing the adoption of more responsible practices.
This paper argues for stronger coordination between assessment and publishing reform movements. It outlines the benefits this offers to different stakeholders: increased reach and reduced duplication for reform initiatives themselves; a more coherent foundation for policy development for funders, research institutions, and policymakers; and greater consistency and reduced uncertainty for researchers navigating what practices are recognised and rewarded. Rather than replacing current initiatives or introducing new governance structures, the authors propose a minimal, collaborative approach to bring these agendas into alignment, build on work already underway, and enable shared learning across both domains.
Waltman, L., de Moura Rocha Lima, G., Corker, K. S., Dijkstal, F., Lawrence, R., Barbour, V., Boulton, G., Brasil Varandas Pinto, A. L., Dube, N., Gadd, E., Hatch, A., Hill, M., Joseph, H., Kiermer, V., Koley, M., Lynott, D., Murray, S., Naidorf, J., Pölönen, J., … Shawrav, M. M. (2026). From interdependent movements to shared action: Connecting publishing and assessment reforms. ASAPbio, DORA, International Science Council, CWTS Leiden University. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22133868