In recent years, initiatives to further develop ways of assessing research quality and academic careers have increased in scope and strength. Some of the key change processes that contribute to these discussions are:
Open Science:
There are strong indications that, in the time ahead, openness will be an integral part of all knowledge production and dissemination. Open research is about to become the new norm, and it will therefore be natural for all results, activities and competencies to be assessed in the light of the aims of open research. Open research will therefore affect how careers are assessed.
Assessing and recognising a greater breadth of competencies in research and teaching and interaction with society:
Many of the activities that academic staff perform in line with the institution’s goals and work are not systematically assessed or valued. Individual research achievements in the form of published research results are more strongly incentivised than other work, and individual achievements are given greater weight than collaborative efforts. A better balance in the assessment of the various key activities has been called for.
The need to reduce and modify the reliance on quantitative publication metrics in academic career assessment:
The privileging of quantitative research results and the traditional, quantifiable indicators with which they are measured (e.g. number of publications, h-index and Journal Impact Factor) has become a challenge in many environments. These indicators do not always serve as valid proxies for research quality, they do not reflect the full extent of research activity, nor do they cover the other activities and compe tencies that are expected in an academic career