53 projects across Europe received CoARA Boost Cascade Funding to reform research assessment in their institutions.

Projects were selected through two open calls: 25 in the First Call (2024) and 28 in the Second Call (2025). They cover three types of projects: Institutional Pilot, Teaming and Institutional Change. Learn more about the calls and project types.

Selected projects

First Call – 25 projectsSecond Call – 28 projects

The First Call (26 April – 26 June 2024) received 72 applications. Following the decision of the evaluation panels, 25 projects were selected in October 2024: 12 Institutional Pilot Projects, 3 Teaming Projects and 10 Institutional Change Projects.

CF1 Projects Overview BookletCF1 Knowledge Exchange

Institutional Pilot Projects (12)

Organisation	Project title
Centria University of Applied Sciences	CENTRIA COMPETENCES
University of Coimbra	TREASURE: Transforming Research Assessment through Responsible Research training of Early Stage Researchers: A pilot study
Association of Healthcare Researchers, Italy (ARSI)	Impact-based assessment of the translational research in the Italian research hospitals
Health Sciences University	Catalysing research assessment reform in a small and specialist university: Reimagining our Academic Framework and evaluating its implementation in a revised academic performance review exercise
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona	Piloting new approaches and metrics for research assessment: A first step for a real transformation
ELTE Eötvös Loránd University	Participatory Diversification of Research Assessment in the Humanities: A Citizens’ Council approach
Leeds Trinity University	Assessing the quality of ‘non-standard’ research outputs in Business and Management: an institutional pilot study
Middle East Technical University	Qualitative KPIs Tailored for Creative Industries: A Pilot Study on Film-Making, Wearables, and Game Development
Ramon Llull University	Towards a Qualitative Paradigm: Rethinking Research and Researchers Assessment at Blanquerna, Universitat Ramon Llull – ReAss
Fundació Centre de Regulació Genòmica	Impact Narratives for biomedical research: a Co-creation Approach to fair implementation
Swansea University	Evaluating the Impact of Reformed Research Assessment and the use of Narrative CVs in Academic Career Promotion at Swansea University
Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski	Advancing Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski’s Research Assessment Towards Open Research (AURA)

Teaming Projects (3)

Organisations	Project title
University of Rijeka, University of Cyprus, European Office of Cyprus	Open Science Collaboration for Research Career Advancement and Policy Innovation at UNIRI and UCY (OSCAR)
University of Oulu, Ruhr University Bochum, Tampere University	CoARA ExPECT – Exchange & Promote Evaluation Criteria Changes Together
University of Carthage (UCAR) – National Institute of Applied Science and Technology (INSAT), Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC)	Reforming Research Assessment in the University of Carthage Towards a Qualitative Original Approach, Multidisciplinary Model and Sustainable Procedures

Institutional Change Projects (10)

Organisation	Project title
Amsterdam UMC	IDEA: Integrating Diversity in Evaluation and Assessment of Researchers – Experiences from Amsterdam
Czech Academy of Sciences	New Assessment Tools for Internal Programs of the Czech Academy of Sciences
Politecnico di Torino	FEDRA – An institutional FAIR data lakE for transparent, inclusive, and reproDucible Research Assessment
Fundació per a la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya	ECE4CoARA – Effective Community Engagement for a successful CoARA action plan implementation at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC): a community engagement case study at institutional level
Ilia State University	Linking the Individual and Collective Responsibility: Transforming the Research Planning and Evaluation Culture
University of Graz	Managing the cultural transition associated with research assessment reform
University of Gdańsk	Reform of researchers’ assessment in the University of Gdańsk
Häme University of Applied Sciences	Strengthening the Qualitative Criteria for the Researcher Assessment at Häme University of Applied Sciences
Steinbeis Transfer Center Solar Thermal Energy Systems	Transforming Research Assessment at the Steinbeis Transfer Center – An Integrated Approach to Responsible and Impactful Evaluation
Joanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft mbH	Reforming Assessment Policies and Practices at Joanneum Research

Thank you to the reviewers of the First Call (35)

The projects were selected after careful evaluation by expert review panels. We warmly thank the reviewers who offered their time and expertise to assess each application.

Name	Organisation
Prof. Alis Oancea	University of Oxford
Prof. Dominik Antonowicz	Nicolaus Copernicus University
Prof. Emanuele Conte	Università Roma Tre
Dr Mira Söderman	Federation of Finnish Learned Societies
Ms Olivia Denk	Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences
Dr Tim Engels	University of Antwerp
Prof. Ludo Waltman	Leiden University
Ms Grace Murkett	University of Strathclyde
Dr Oleksandr Berezko	Institute for Open Science and Innovation
Ms Iryna Kuchma	EIFL
Mr Jeroen Bosman	Utrecht University
Prof. João Claro	INESC TEC
Dr Kathrine Bennike	Aalborg University Library
Mr Lennart Stoy	Technopolis Group
Dr Marta Agostinho	EU-LIFE Alliance of Independent Research Institutes in Europe
Dr Matthias Kiesselbach	German Research Foundation (DFG)
Prof. Mikael Laakso	Tampere University
Prof. Andreja Istenič	University of Primorska
Mr Clifford Tatum	CWTS (Centre for Science and Technology Studies)
Prof. Cameron Neylon	Curtin University
Prof. Fabien Borget	Aix-Marseille Université
Dr Francesca Di Donato	CNR
Dr Giuliana Sabbatini	St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences
Dr Hannelore Vanhaverbeke	KU Leuven
Prof. Ricardo Migueis	INESC
Dr Sybille Hinze	Berlin University Alliance
Dr Tony Ross-Hellauer	Know-Center Research GmbH
Prof. Bruno Béu	Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)
Dr David O’Connell	University College Cork
Dr Ioana Spanache	UEFISCDI – Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding
Prof. Jadranka Stojanovski	University of Zadar
Prof. Katarzyna Nawrot	Polish Academy of Sciences, Committee of Future Studies
Prof. Ladislav Kristoufek	Charles University
Dr Michael Ochsner	University of Lausanne
Mr Ragnar Lie	Universities Norway

The Second Call (21 February – 23 April 2025) received more than 130 applications from across the European Research Area and beyond. In July 2025, 28 projects were selected: 11 Institutional Pilot Projects, 6 Teaming Projects and 11 Institutional Change Projects. The projects started in September 2025.

CF2 Projects Overview Booklet

Institutional Pilot Projects (11)

Organisation	Project title
Sigmund Freud Private University	CoARAverse in Psychology: Piloting reforms to foster and assess diverse research cultures with a focus on participation, qualitative indicators, and peer-review
Karelia University of Applied Sciences	Assessment Tool for evaluating the qualitative impact of RDI activities at Universities of Applied Sciences
Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna	Leveraging the local research evaluation system to raise awareness at the University of Bologna
University of Edinburgh	Adoption by Example: Reflecting Open Research Progress to Guide Transformations in Assessment
European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)	From skills to recognition: A pan-EMBL Data Stewardship Programme for the Research Assessment Reform
ProArch	APRO – Architectural Projects as Research prOducts: towards shared assessment criteria
CYENS Centre of Excellence	Transforming Research Assessment at CYENS: Towards a Responsible, Inclusive and Impact-Driven Model (TRAC)
Azienda USL IRCCS di Reggio Emilia	FairEval: Developing Fair and Responsible Research Assessment Models at IRCCS of Reggio Emilia
Institute of Economic Sciences	Advancing Research Assessment in Serbia: A Pilot Project for the Institute of Economic Sciences – ARISE
Max Delbrück Center (MDC)	RECAST – Reforming Evaluation Criteria for Assessment, Science, and Teams
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb	Responsible Indicator Framework for Humanities and Social Sciences

Teaming Projects (6)

Organisations	Project title
Lodz University of Technology, Linköping University, University of Aveiro	DIVERSE+: Advancing Diverse and Qualitative Research Assessment Across Europe
University of Suffolk, University of Bedfordshire	Reforming Research Assessment: Building Inclusive, Open, and Equitable Evaluation Practices through Open Educational Resources
Federation of Finnish Learned Societies, Lapland University of Applied Sciences, University of Turku	Implementing Framework for Assessment: Case FIN-CAM
University of Bucharest, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Aix-Marseille University	Laboratory of Engagement with Research Assessment Reform (LERAR): exchanging good practices between three members of one European university alliance, CIVIS
Research Data Alliance Association, Catholic University of Portugal, TOBB University of Economics and Technology	Teaming for self-evaluation in research assessment across scales: from researchers to institutions
University College Cork, Amsterdam UMC	ORFIRA – Introducing an Open Research Framework and integrating Open Research indicators into Research Assessment

Institutional Change Projects (11)

Organisation	Project title
Museo Galileo – Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza	MUSEVAL – A Framework for Museum-Based Research Evaluation
Université Clermont Auvergne	Integrating Open Science into the Qualitative Research Assessment Reform at University Clermont Auvergne (OSQuAR-UCA)
Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences	REACH – REady for lAsting CHange in research assessment at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences
Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences (SEAMK)	CAREER-PILOT: CoARA-Aligned Pathway Pilot at SEAMK
Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas	Mind the Gender Gap in Computer Science (MindGenGapICT)
Dutch Research Council (NWO)	Non-traditional key output in evidence-based CVs for applicants
Berlin Institute of Health at Charité	MERIT-BIH Groups: Institutionalizing Fair and Robust Research Assessment of Research Groups through Infrastructure
Fundació Institut de Recerca Biomèdica (IRB Barcelona)	THRIVE – Towards holistic and responsible institutional evaluation at IRB Barcelona
National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA)	Pilot Experiments for Innovative Academic Assessment under ANECA’s CoARA Action Plan (PEI3AC)
UEFISCDI	ARIA – Advancing Responsible and Inclusive Assessment at UEFISCDI
Dublin City University	Reforming research assessment throughout the employee lifecycle

Thank you to the reviewers of the Second Call (43)

A curated pool of external reviewers was selected to ensure diversity in geography, expertise, gender and career stage. Beneficiaries of the First Call were also involved in the review, reinforcing peer learning within the CoARA community. We warmly thank all reviewers for their time and expertise.

Name	Organisation
Dr Tim Engels	University of Antwerp
Dr Julie Northam	Health Sciences University
Prof. Bruno Béu	Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)
Mr Marios Demetriades	University of Cyprus
Ms Olivia Denk	Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences
Prof. Mohamed Gargouri	University of Carthage
Dr Sybille Hinze	Berlin University Alliance (BUA)
Prof. Mikael Laakso	Tampere University
Prof. Keti Tsotniashvili	Ilia State University
Dr Oscar Xavier Guerrero Gutierrez	Cinvestav
Dr Tracey Weissgerber	University of Coimbra
Dr Natàlia Dave	Centre de Regulació Genòmica
Prof. João Ramalho-Santos	University of Coimbra
Dr Matthias Kiesselbach	German Research Foundation (DFG)
Prof. Federica Cappelluti	Politecnico di Torino
Dr Nataša Jermen	The Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography
Prof. Dominik Antonowicz	Nicolaus Copernicus University
Prof. João Claro	INESC TEC and Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto
Ms Elpida Christou	European Office of Cyprus
Dr Anna Seager	Swansea University
Prof. Toma Susi	University of Vienna
Dr Xavier Arino	Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Dr Tony Ross-Hellauer	Know-Center Research GmbH
Ms Veera Joro	Häme University of Applied Sciences
Mr Björn Hammarfelt	University of Borås
Dr Katarzyna Swierk	University of Gdańsk
Prof. Nataša Jakominić Marot	University of Rijeka
Dr Csanád Bodó	Eötvös Loránd University
Prof. Montserrat Castelló	Universitat Ramon Llull
Dr Dagmar Eleveld-Trancikova	Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen
Dr Inês T. Almeida	University of Coimbra
Dr Kamila Lewandowska	University of Warsaw
Dr Cristina Arimany	IBEC
Dr Oleksandr Berezko	Institute for Open Science and Innovation
Dr Leoš Horníček	Czech Academy of Sciences
Dr Krishma Labib	Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Prof. Saša Zelenika	University of Rijeka
Dr Eva Méndez	Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M)
Dr Pastora Martínez Samper	Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
Mr Andreas Raggautz	University of Graz
Prof. Steve Johnson	Leeds Trinity University
Dr Hannelore Vanhaverbeke	KU Leuven
Prof. Arzu Gönenç Sorguç	Middle East Technical University

Follow the projects

Updates and results from the funded projects are shared through the CoARA Zenodo community and the CoARA newsletter.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the Cascade Funding Programme and helped advance institutional reform of research assessment.