CoARA’s Voluntary Sponsorship Campaign: our first sponsors funding a community-owned CoARA!

As CoARA continues to grow, build tools to serve the broader research community, and aims to further drive impact to foster a healthier research culture, we are pleased to share updates on CoARA’s voluntary sponsorship campaign that was launched earlier this year and was opened to all members in September 2025. The initiative is designed to ensure long-term sustainability of the coalition, to drive meaningful and lasting reform in research assessment reform, and to support a community-owned CoARA moving forward.

Why a Voluntary Sponsorship Campaign?

CoARA’s strength lies in its diverse membership of universities, research organisations, funders, learned societies, infrastructures, and other actors committed to transforming research assessment. As CoARA’s membership expands and activities deepen, the need for increased capacity becomes ever more pressing. We are calling on members to take a decisive step in shaping the future by contributing to the CoARA’s central budget, paving the way for increased impact in the short term and sustainability beyond October 2026

The voluntary sponsorship campaign aims to:

• Reinforce community ownership and bolster a growing membership
• Expand on-going activities and support new initiatives
• Monitor CoARA’s impact and maintain momentum

Thank You to Our First Sponsors

We are proud to share messages from our first sponsors playing a pivotal role in funding a community-owned CoARA and inspiring others across the coalition to join in sustaining this movement. Your leadership helps ensure that CoARA remains a vibrant, community-owned coalition capable of driving meaningful cultural change in research assessment.

Maastrict University

I believe that reforming research assessment is essential to building an open, collaborative and supportive research culture where researchers can truly thrive. I was honoured to serve as CoARA’s first Chair and help lay the foundations of this coalition that has achieved great progress over the past three years. Today, I remain committed to CoARA’s mission. Our shared task now is to strengthen a community-owned CoARA, sustained by the leadership and commitment of our universities and research institutions. This is how we ensure a future in which research and the dedicated researchers in this community may truly flourish.”

• Prof. Rianne Letschert, Rector of Maastrict University and former Chair of CoARA

Jagiellonion University

CoARA brings new hope to the academic community of re-introducing, on a really wide scale, quality measures as key to assessing research activities. Dedicating resources locally and supporting centrally-coordinated actions demonstrates true institutional engagement in reform, creating a motivating environment for researchers following diverse career paths.”

• Prof. Dr. Piotr Jedynak, Rector of Jagiellonian University

UCLouvain

The UCLouvain Action Plan clearly demonstrates the university’s commitment to the reform. It is crucial for the future of science to align more closely with the aspirations and constraints of both senior and junior generations of researchers, as well as addressing the new issues and requirements they and our societies are facing.”

• Prof. Agnès Guiderdoni, Prorector of Research UCLouvain

AGH University

One of the primary objectives of the AGH University strategy is to create attractive working conditions, including well-defined rules and priorities of the HR policy, clearly defined scenarios for long-term career paths, enhanced opportunities for personal development within competently managed research teams, and an active, international work environment. These goals closely align with the CoARA principles, which serve as a guideline for future necessary changes. AGH University strongly supports the CoARA initiative, as it provides us with a unique platform for direct discussions on the broad topic of qualitative evaluation of research, far beyond traditional publication metrics.”

• Prof. Jerzy Lis, Rector of AGH University

 

Reforming research assessment is a long-term endeavour requiring continuity, commitment, and collective support. The voluntary sponsorship campaign reflects CoARA’s dedication to community ownership and to a future in which the coalition remains independent, stable, and capable of advancing reform for years to come. We invite all members who are able to do so to consider sponsorship and to help consolidate today’s progress, complement the strengths of our diverse community, and anticipate tomorrow’s needs.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Voluntary Sponsorship campaign, please contact us at secretariat@coara.eu by email with the subject line “CoARA Sponsorship Campaign.”