*Ole Mertz1,2
(1.Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, 2.Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan)
Keywords:Research assessment, Research funding
Assessment of research proposals and CVs of applicants for research grants and academic positions has been strongly influenced by the use of bibliometrics when comparing research outputs. However, as stated by the San Francisco Declaration of Research Assessment (DORA) and in an agreement established by the European Commission in 2022, many bibliometric variables, and especially the journal impact factor, were designed for librarians to guide decisions on which books and journals to purchase. They were never meant for assessing research quality. Moreover, the need to focus research assessment work on a broad range of academic achievements beyond peer-reviewed scientific publications, including societal impact and ethical approaches to research, is increasingly emphasized. In this presentation, the main ideas behind a more critical use of bibliometrics are outlined and, drawing on experiences with research assessment for various research councils, including chairing a European Research Council Advanced Grant Panel, the challenges and opportunities for implementing the new ideas for research assessment in practice are discussed.