ANECA participates in the CoARA General Assembly and reinforces its institutional commitment to research assessment reform

ANECA participated in the General Assembly of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA), held on June 23 with the attendance of around 250 representatives from universities, quality agencies, and research centers from around the world. The aim of the meeting was to approve the strategic priorities for 2025 and to share the progress made by the 13 working groups and national chapters that make up the coalition.

The president of the coalition, Henk Kummeling, rector of the University of Utrecht (2018-2025), presented the strategic priorities proposed by the CoARA Steering Board, which will focus on strengthening the implementation of key tools, improving support for members, and ensuring the sustainability of the coalition. The results of the second call for Cascade Funding projects were also shared, which will support 28 new initiatives focused on institutional change, implementation pilots, and networking. The selected projects will begin in September 2025.

During the Assembly, participants reflected on the progress made in joint work at the working group and national chapter levels, as well as on the need to move towards shared leadership models, with greater institutional involvement in the design and implementation of action plans. In this regard, the Steering Board will reflect on the possibility of developing a compendium of institutional cases that includes effective leadership strategies in the implementation of assessment reforms.

Spain occupies a prominent position in the implementation process, with 22 active action plans, second only to Finland. This figure demonstrates the commitment of the Spanish university and research system to the principles of CoARA. In this regard, it was announced at the General Assembly that Spain will host the next meeting of CoARA national chapters in March 2026, consolidating the active role of the Spanish National Chapter, coordinated by ANECA in collaboration with CRUE, CSIC, and ISCIII. 

ANECA thus reaffirms its commitment to the transformation of the research evaluation system, from a collaborative perspective, based on evidence and in line with the values of integrity, diversity, and continuous improvement.