Karelia University of Applied Sciences is committed to reforming research evaluation as part of the CoARA agreement, which aims to promote high-quality and responsible evaluation. Karelia’s CoARA implementation plan for 2024–2027 focuses on the development of research activities and the qualitative assessment of researchers. The aim is to create a fair and more pluralistic assessment that takes into account different perspectives and competences.
What is CoARA?
CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment) is a European coalition for the reform of research evaluation. It includes the renewal and development of both research and the qualitative assessment of the researcher. More than 700 organizations worldwide have already signed the CoARA agreement. In Finland, all universities and 22 universities of applied sciences have signed the CoARA agreement. The CoARA agreement consists of ten commitments that create a common direction for the reform and development of research and researcher evaluation. The convention contains several principles guiding the evaluation of research, researchers and research organisations. These include, for example, openness, responsibility, dialogue, cooperation, voluntariness, trust and non-profit activities.
The background and purpose of CoARA are rooted in science universities. However, universities of applied sciences play a significant role in ensuring that the research conducted in these institutions, as well as its evaluation, is adequately considered within CoARA. Universities of applied sciences are part of the national CoARA group. In universities of applied sciences, the RDI management and HR management networks play a key role in coordinating and advancing CoARA work. In addition, universities of applied sciences are involved in the CoARA work in an international forum.
What does CoARA mean in Karelia?
Karelia is also committed to the CoARA agreement. In May 2024, Karelia’s CoARA implementation plan was approved, and will be implemented in 2024–2027 as part of the development of Karelia’s quality and impact work. The plan includes the development of the qualitative evaluation of research (RDI activities) and the researcher (RDI personnel) and an external evaluation related to these objectives, which is planned for 2027. To implement the plan, Karelia has a 7-member CoARA working group.
In addition, Karelia is involved in international cooperation in the INVEST alliance network coordinated by the University of Milano Bicocca, more specifically in CoARA’s TIER (Towards an Inclusive Evaluation of Research) working group coordinated by Bicocca. The working group aims to ensure responsible evaluation of research and researchers, acknowledging evolving criteria and inherent biases such as ethnicity, gender, religion, language, or reputation. The goal is to foster fair, pluralistic, and inclusive assessments.
Towards more transparent and ethical assessment
When the evaluation process is systematic and clear, and the evaluation criteria are transparent and openly available, we are already on the path towards fair and more ethical operations. In addition to substantive expertise, the call for applications for researchers and other RDI personnel at universities of applied sciences often mentions cooperation and networking skills. However, the assessment of these solely on the basis of a list of publications, work tasks and organisational activities remains thin. Therefore, they need to be accompanied by a more extensive, verbal account of experiences and competences, a so-called narrative CV. The assessment must therefore also include qualitative criteria. This sets special requirements for the selection of evaluators: is the composition of the jury sufficient and representative? Are different perspectives sure to be taken into account? And are the evaluators themselves familiar with the assessment process and assessment criteria?
In addition, the TIER working group points out that research and development personnel should represent different strengths and diverse skills. For example, combining societal, cultural and technical expertise produces more innovative solutions than staying confined to a specific sector. The project financiers may also require a more pluralistic approach: certain EU funding channels and programmes require gender and inclusion to be taken into account in project content and innovation, and they also have an impact on the evaluation of results.
Many higher education institutions, including Karelia, have signed up to CoARA’s principles and goals for responsible assessment, but they have not always been put into practice. That is why the TIER working group has started to compile a list of best practices in order to provide concrete models and tools for setting and monitoring goals and related training. This challenge has also been taken up in Karelia, as our own CoARA group is starting to systematically build a set of criteria and tools for assessing the sustainable impact of RDI projects, both qualitatively and quantitatively.
How is the qualitative assessment of a researcher carried out at Karelia?
At Karelia, research is typically carried out as part of the work of a principal lecturer, lecturer or project experts working in projects. The qualitative assessment of a researcher is part of the management of the competence of the personnel and the intellectual capital of the organisation, which is carried out both through recruitment and the development of the competence of the personnel. The development of competence is assessed qualitatively in annual development discussions, which include, for example, a self-assessment of strategic competences. Karelia also has a separate research career path through which Karelia supports the doctoral dissertation work of its staff.
As part of Karelia’s CoARA implementation plan in 2025, the goal is to develop the horizontal career paths of research personnel and to expand the strategic competence map in the evaluation of researcher’s work with the help of the FIN-CAM (Finnish Career Assessment Matrix) national assessment tool. The purpose of the tool is to enable a comprehensive, systematic and transparent examination of the areas of researcher’s work, merits and competence in various assessment situations.
Authors:
Tarja Kupiainen, Principal Lecturer, Karelia University of Applied Sciences
Jaana Tolkki, Director of Human Resources and Sustainability, Karelia University of Applied Sciences
Sources:
Roininen, M., Krappe, J., Timonen, H. 2023. Reform of research evaluation in universities of applied sciences. UAS Journal 4/2023. https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe20231127149558
FIN-CAM tool for researcher evaluation. Draft. https://vastuullinentiede.fi/sites/default/files/2025-01/FIN-CAM-arviointity%C3%B6kalun%20luonnos.pdf