EU Support for the Reform of Research Assessment at the Faculty of Humanities

14.12.2024.

Csanád Bodó, Associate Professor at the Institute of Hungarian Linguistics and Finno-Ugric Studies, was the first from Hungary to successfully apply for the new grant from CoARA, which has 700 members.

With the support of the pan-European Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA), Hungary’s first initiative aimed at the quality-based transformation of research assessment will be launched at ELTE. In 2025, faculty members and doctoral students involved in the project will collaboratively develop proposals to complement the Faculty of Humanities’ metric-based research assessment system, aligning with the goals of the reform. The project is led by Csanád Bodó, habilitated associate professor at the Institute of Hungarian Linguistics and Finno-Ugric Studies, and leader of the MTA-ELTE Collaborative Writing Research Group.

In response to the situation where, in recent years, excessive emphasis has been placed on the numerical measurement and comparison of scientific achievements (publications, citations), thereby overlooking many other activities and values, an agreement was reached in 2022 as a European initiative for the reform of the evaluation system for research, researchers, and institutions.

The development of the agreement was accompanied by wide-ranging collaboration, with key roles played by Science Europe and the European University Association (EUA), supported by the European Commission. Hungary was represented in the preparation process by ELKH (now HUN-REN) and ELTE. The agreement outlined four main commitments, and fulfilling these will lead to additional commitments, including the involvement of a wide range of researchers in the reform process. The main commitments are:

1. Recognition of contributions to research and the diversity of research careers in accordance with the needs and nature of the research.

2. Placing research evaluation primarily on qualitative assessment, where expert evaluation (peer review) plays a central role, supported by the responsible use of quantitative indicators.

3. Discontinuation of the inappropriate use of journal- and publication-based metrics, particularly impact factor and Hirsch index (h-index), in research evaluation.

4. Avoiding the use of metrics for ranking research institutions or organizations when evaluating individual researchers and research projects.

More than 700 European organizations have joined the agreement so far, including universities, research institutes, scientific societies, research funders and their associations, national and regional authorities, and accreditation agencies. The first signatory from Hungary was ELTE, and currently, 14 Hungarian organizations are members of CoARA, which was established by the joining entities. This coalition enables its members to pursue the implementation of the commitments outlined in the agreement, following their own assessments and goals, using their own resources, while learning from each other.

Although members generally carry out the related tasks without financial support, it has become clear that certain larger programs require specific funding. Therefore, the best 25 proposals selected from this year’s first-ever call for applications, including Csanád Bodó’s proposal from ELTE, will be implemented with the financial support of the Horizon Europe CoARA Boost program. The initiative enjoys the support of the European Union, as the reform is a key part of the European Research Area (ERA) political agenda (Action 3).

The only winning Hungarian project contributes to the transformation of research assessment at ELTE’s Faculty of Humanities, with a group of 25 members randomly selected from faculty members and doctoral students. The group will thoroughly familiarize themselves with the principles of the research assessment reform, discuss their ideas on the topic, and then collaboratively formulate recommendations for transforming the faculty’s research assessment system. Since the grant allows for compensation for the participants’ time, the group will dedicate three full days to these tasks. The Faculty’s leadership will then prepare a written response to the recommendations, considering the possibilities for their implementation.