Bristol Case Study Profile

Case Study Institutional Profile Template

Section 1: Institutional Profile

Institution’s name: University of Bristol

Type of institution: Research Intensive

University of Bristol is a research-intensive University, with over 29,000 students and employing approximately 9,000 staff. The University has a reputation for academic excellence and delivering world-leading research.

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).

Since October 2021, open research has been included within the University of Bristol’s Academic Promotions Framework, under the first of four Research Criteria: ‘Research Output’.

This is intended to recognize the value that the University places on open research, and incentivize the uptake of open research practices amongst academic and research staff. The University’s commitment to open research is underpinned by our institutional policies for Open Access, and Research Data Management and Open Data.

We are currently in the process of signing the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information, and have our vision and strategic plan for research culture emphasizes the importance of promoting openness and transparency in how we work. Together these reinforce our commitment to transparency in recognition and reward processes, which we consider an aspect of open research.

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 University of Bristol is committed to applying 11 guiding principles where applicable (e.g., in hiring and promotion decisions), including the appropriate use of quantitative research metrics. We are exploring extending our recognition of open research practices in our Academic Promotions Framework to include recruitment, probation and annual reviews. We are also currently revising our open research policies to bring these under a single, overarching policy.

We are also conducting an internal review of the inclusion of recognition of open research within our Academic Promotions Framework, to establish the proportion of promotion cases that made reference to this, and in what way, and intend to monitor this over time. This will help us understand whether other training, support and incentives for open research practices are reflected in the promotion cases being put forward by academic and research staff.

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