Leicester Case Study Profile

Section 2: Open and Responsible Research Assessment – Current Strategic Activity

Please outline any current initiatives that address recognition and reward for open research within the context of research assessment practices, e.g., recruitment, promotion, probation and annual performance development review (max 250 words).

In 2022 the University established an Open Research and Scholarship Leadership Group (ORSLG), involving academic, library and research office staff to coordinate and drive change across the key areas of open research and scholarship (including research assessment, recognition and reward).  Recognition for open research practices is highlighted in the academic career map for academic research roles, with evidence of achievement including contribution to the development and promotion of good practice in open scholarship and/or research integrity.

The University of Leicester Citizens Awards are an annual celebration and recognition of exceptional achievements by exceptional individuals and teams at the University of Leicester. The Research Excellence Award is offered to an individual or team who has demonstrated excellence in two or more of a range of criteria, one of which is “Exemplifying good research practice, embracing and advocating open approaches to research and scholarship.”

Section 3: Open and Responsible Research Assessment – Planned Activity

Please outline any planned activity to address recognition and reward for open research within the context of research assessment reform (max 250 words).

The remit of the ORSLG is to review policies and practices and amend them to reflect the changing open scholarship landscape, for example we will review the standard recruitment criteria, and explore whether it is possible to make explicit reference to open scholarship.  Through our participation in the UKRN’s OR4 and the Open Research Indicators projects, we hope to develop our institutional understanding of responsible metrics of open research that can be incorporated to this process.

As a current signatory of DORA, the University is currently considering signing COARA, with its strong emphasis on open research practices as a key criteria of research assessment.

The ORSLG also works in an ongoing way to improve institutional recognition of good practice in open research – for example, in 2024 we aim to identify and highlight a series of 10 open research case studies, which will be published as a collection in the Leicester Research Archive (our repository), and celebrated at a special event.

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