CoARA Conference 2026: Shaping CoARA’s Future
CoARA Conference 2026
Shaping CoARA's Future: Strengthened Communities Driving Systemic Change in Research Assessment
CoARA is evolving as both a community and a movement. As the coalition approaches its five-year milestone in 2027, this moment of transition provides an opportunity to bring together the coalition's core communities and spotlight how, together, CoARA members are driving reform forward.
Co-hosted by CNRS, ESF, Science Europe, and ALLEA, as part of the Horizon Europe CoARA Boost project, the conference was held on 7-8 September 2026 in Paris, France, providing a platform to bring together 130+ community leaders and experts across the coalition and the wider research ecosystem. Across the 1.5-day conference, participants explored emerging practices and tools shaping a fairer, more inclusive research culture and exchanged lessons learned to set the stage for the next phase of the coalition to further drive systemic change.
About the Conference
Under the theme "Shaping CoARA's Future: Strengthened Communities Driving Systemic Change in Research Assessment," the conference will showcase practical experiences, emerging tools, and lessons learned from CoARA's core communities, including Working Groups, National Chapters, and Cascade Funding Beneficiaries. The conference will also aim to fostering dialogue on how to strengthen implementation, enhance collaboration, and support lasting reform.
As reform efforts mature across different institutional and national contexts, there is growing demand for practical support, stronger monitoring and evaluating mechanisms, and enhanced alignment with global partner initiatives. The conference will create a platform to explore how CoARA can strengthen its support structures for implementation, build on insights and enhance coordination across the community, and collectively shape a shared vision for a future that drives systemic change.
Objectives
- Bring together representatives from CoARA's core implementation communities, Steering Board, and stakeholders across the research ecosystem including: researchers, policymakers, RFOs, RPOs, universities and their associations, national authorities, and representatives from other global reform initiatives.
- Foster exchange, collaboration, and knowledge sharing across the coalition's different communities and activities.
- Showcase outputs, resources, tools, and project outcomes to date across CoARA communities.
- Identify opportunities to increase synergies between communities and create a more connected and effective coalition ecosystem.
- Draw on lessons learned and emerging good practices to inform the coalition's future development.
- Build a shared vision for CoARA's strategic evolution, sustainability, and impact.
Photos from Day 1 & Day 2 of the CoARA Conference 2026
CoARA Community Poster Showcase
A poster exhibition was held on Day 2 of the conference with an aim to showcase the wide range of activities, projects, tools, and initiatives being developed across CoARA's core implementation communities. A total of 15 posters were displayed during the conference from Cascade Funding projects, Working Groups, and National Chapters.
CoARA Collection & Outputs
The conference showcased the latest tools, outputs, and resources produced by the CoARA community to further drive implementation. On Day 1 of the conference, CoARA Working Groups discussed how outputs can be taken up by target stakeholders in research performing and funding contexts. A booklet of CoARA Working Group outputs was also distributed to further highlight the tools currently available to the wider community, with more in development still to come! If you are part of a CoARA community and you would like to submit your output for endorsement, please click here.
In addition to the Working Groups, the conference also explored case studies, tools, and lessons learned from recent Cascade Funding projects. On Day 2, National Chapters also provided updates on the current status of reform in specific local contexts, including Norway, Ireland, Hungary, and Czech Republic and explored the role of the chapters in further closing the implementation gap in the next phase.
Presentations from case studies from Cascade Funding projects and updates from CoARA's National Chapters will be made available soon.
Featured Speakers:
Keynote speakers, panellists, and moderators across the programme include:
- Prof. Dr. Henk Kummeling (CoARA Chair, Utrecht University)
- Prof. Pawel Rowiński (President of ALLEA)
- Thierry Dauxois (CNRS Chairman and CEO)
- Dr. Karen Stroobants (CoARA Vice Chair, MCAA, Culturebase Consulting)
- Mr. Janne Pölönen (CoARA Vice Chair, Federation of Finnish Learned Societies)
- Mr. Michael Arentoft (European Commission - Head of Unit Open Science and Research Infrastructures, DG Research & Innovation)
- Dr. Lidia Borrell-Damián (Science Europe - Secretary General)
- Dr. Vinciane Gaillard (EUA - Director of Research & Innovation)
- Dr. David Chavalarias (CNRS - Resarch Director)
- Mr. Nicolas Walter (ESF - CEO)
- Dr. Yensi Flores Bueso (Global Young Academy - Co-Chair, former Steering Board member)
- Ms. Silvia Gómez Recio (YERUN - Secretary General)
- Dr. Mostafa Moonir Shawrav (MCAA - Executive Director)
- Dr. Stefan Penders (NC Netherlands, NWO)
- Dr. Rita Morais (WG Academic Career Assessment, EUA)
- Dr. Matthias Kiesselbach (DFG - Direction of Research Culture, Co-Chair Working Group Improving Practices in the Assessment of Research Proposals)
- Ms. Kornelia Tzinova (UNESCO - Programme Specialist, Research Governance & Diplomacy)
- Ms. Tung Tung Chan (Erasmus University Rotterdam - Research Intelligence Advisor, Co-Chair Working Group Recognizing and Rewarding Peer Review)
- Dr. Klemen Miklavič (ARIS - Assistant Director, Co-Chair National Chapter Slovenia)
- Dr. Teresa Sordé Martí (UAB - Professor, Co-Chair Working Group Towards Transformations)
- Dr. Noémie Aubert Bonn (Hasselt University - Post-doctoral researcher, Co-Chair Working Group Experiments in Assessment)
- Ms. Krisztina Szepesvári (HUN-REN - Desk Officer of International Affairs, Co-Chair National Chapter Hungary)
- Dr. David O’Connell (University College Cork - Director of Research Support & Policy, Co-Chair National Chapter Ireland)
- Prof. Stanislaw Kistryn (CoARA Steering Board, Jagiellonian University - Professor, Co-Chair National Chapter Poland, )
- Dr. Erzsébet Tóth-Czifra (CoARA Programme Manager)
- Dr. Sylvie Rousset (CNRS - Director of the Scientific and Technical Information Department (DIST), former CoARA Steering Board member)
- Dr. James Morris (Science Europe, Senior Policy Officer)
- Dr. Irene Ramos-Vielba (CoARA Steering Board, ANECA - Advisor)
- Dr. Giovanna Lima (DORA - Programme Manager)
- Dr. Daniela Perrotta (FOLEC-CLACSO - Coordinator)
- Mr. Hans de Jonge (CoARA Steering Board, NWO - Director Open Science)
- Dr. Frédéric Sgard (OECD Global Science Forum - Project Administrator)
- Dr. Gabi Lombardo (CoARA Steering Board, EASSH - Director)
- Ms. Nosisa Dube (National Resarch Foundation - Director, Global Research Coucnil Responsible Research Assessment Working Group)
- Prof. Cameron Neylon (CoARA Steering Board, Curtin University - Professor)
- Ms. Maria Ronald (ALLEA, CoARA Project Manager)
- Mr. Ragnar Lie (Universities Norway - Senior Advisor on Research & Knowledge Policies, Co-Chair National Chapter Norway)
- Mgr. Michal Petr (Masaryk University - Office Director)
- Prof. Fabien Borget (Aix Marseille University - Professor, Co-Chair National Chapter France)
- Ms. Iva Melinščak Zlodi (University of Zagreb - Librarian)
- Dr. Stefan Riedel (Ruhr University Bochum - Advisor to the Vice-Rector for Research and Transfer of Junior Researchers National Research Funding)
- Dr. Miriam Kip (Berlin Institute of Health at Charité Berlin - Research Group Leader, Co-Chair Working Group Aligning Biomedical Disciplines with Research Assessment Systems Through Administrative Reforms and Governance)
- Prof. Alis Oancea (University of Oxford - Professor)
- Prof. Silvia Penati (University of Milano-Bicocca - Professor, Co-Chair Working Group Towards an Inclusive Evaluation of Research)
Conference Organisers
FAQ
Questions?
Contact the CoARA Secretariat at secretariat@coara.eu or communication@coara.org!