Italian organisations sign on for research assessment reform

National Research Council and multiple other bodies commit to change use of metrics

The Italian National Research Council and multiple other key institutions in the country have signed on to a Europe-wide push to overhaul research assessment processes.

Earlier this year, a European Commission-led team outlined an agreement on what change was needed to how researchers are assessed. This sets out four core aims: to recognise the diversity of research roles; to base assessment primarily on qualitative evaluation; to “abandon inappropriate uses…of journal- and publication-based metrics”; and to avoid the use of international rankings of research organisations in assessing researchers.