Research domains
This idea mostly applies to individual assessment or achievements assessment (i.e., promotion, hiring, personal profile assessment in grant funding, etc.).
Context and considerations
This idea can refer to broader types of research that are valued in assessments, as well as to a broader understanding of the diversity of skills, roles, and achievements necessary for research to advance. This may include valuing practice-based work, arts outputs, community scholarship, logistical and staff work and making clear that these are also essential in contributing to research.
At an individual level, this could mean redefining the roles and responsibilities and the meaning of what it is to be a researcher or an academic. In practice, this would imply changing criteria, promotion/hiring guidelines, as well as elements, achievements, and ‘outputs’ submitted to assessments. It may also mean a change of who is in the assessment committee to diversify the types of elements that are recognised and valued.
Challenges and mitigations
Challenge: Changing the meaning of ‘the researcher’ – or of ‘good research’ – requires a profound cultural change, and is likely to yield resistence among research communities.
Mitigation: It is crucial to define what a researcher – or what good research – really is with research communities, rather than impose a new pre-defined definition. This is a crucial step that will require true immersion, dialogue, and input seeking from the community so that the new models are developed bottom up and not imposed top-town.
Evaluating success
Relevant resources and literature
This section includes resources, literature, and reports relevant to this specific experimental idea.
Templates from funders and institutions
Case examples and literature
The Position paper Room for everyone’s talent from the Dutch Recognition and Reward Programme offers a different way to look at what an academic is, allowning academic staff to decide how they wish to invest their efforts between a number of different elements (Education, Research, Impact, Leadership, and where applicable Patient Care).
The The Norwegian Career Assessment Matrix (NOR-CAM) and the Finnish Career Assessment Matrix (FIN-CAM) follow a similar trajectory, aiming to recognise a broader diversity of competencies, results, and achievements as merits.
Other resources
Background reading: Aubert Bonn N, Pinxten W (2021) Advancing science or advancing careers? Researchers’ opinions on success indicators. PLOS ONE 16(2): e0243664. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243664