How can we ensure that research assessment truly recognises and rewards high-quality research? This question lies at the heart of REALISE, a new EU-funded Horizon Europe project coordinated by Know Center Research GmbH. On 5–6 October 2026, representatives of nine partner organisations from eight European countries gathered in Graz for the project’s official kick-off meeting.
Rethinking how research is assessed
Research thrives on curiosity, scientific rigour, openness, creativity and collaboration. Yet researchers and research organisations are often assessed primarily through quantitative indicators such as publication counts, journal prestige and grant income.
While these measures are relatively easy to track, they do not necessarily capture the quality, diversity and societal value of research contributions. Moreover, the criteria used to assess research influence academic careers, institutional priorities and ultimately the research being conducted.
Addressing this challenge, REALISE aims to strengthen the evidence base for responsible research assessment reform and support the development of more effective, inclusive and evidence-informed assessment practices.
Turning evidence into practical recommendations
Running from September 2026 to August 2029, REALISE brings together expertise from across Europe, supported by approximately €2 million in funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme.
The project focuses on four interconnected areas:
- Consolidating existing evidence: Bringing together current research through AI-enabled evidence synthesis and community consultation, while identifying remaining knowledge gaps.
- Investigating assessment tools and methods: Examining how different approaches to evaluating research and researchers perform in practice.
- Understanding institutional reform: Studying how research organisations implement changes to their assessment practices and identifying factors that contribute to successful reform.
- Developing actionable guidance: Translating scientific findings into a validated framework and practical recommendations tailored to different institutional contexts.
REALISE also aims to actively engage research communities, funding organisations and policymakers to encourage the uptake and long-term impact of its findings.
The project contributes to the broader European movement towards responsible research assessment, including the principles promoted by the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA).
A collaborative start in Graz
During the two-day kick-off meeting on 5–6 October, the consortium discussed the project’s objectives, methodological approaches and work package activities.
Coordinated by Tony Ross-Hellauer from Know Center, the meeting brought together the consortium to explore the consolidation of existing evidence, the evaluation of assessment tools, methods for institutional reform, and the development of recommendations for research organisations and policymakers.
Communication, dissemination and collaboration across the project were also central elements of the discussions.
The meeting marked the beginning of a three-year collaboration aimed at translating research on research assessment into practical support for more responsible evaluation practices.
Nine partners, one shared objective
- Leiden University (Netherlands)
- Radboud University (Netherlands)
- University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom)
- Spanish National Research Council, CSIC (Spain)
- University of Coimbra (Portugal)
- Federation of Finnish Learned Societies (Finland)
- SWPS University (Poland)
- Pensoft Publishers (Bulgaria)
EU funding acknowledgement
REALISE receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101291517. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the EU nor REA can be held responsible for them.
