ANECA publishes its third follow-up report on its CoARA Action Plan 2024-2027

The National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA) has published the third follow-up report on its Action Plan 2024-2027 within the framework of CoARA.

Since joining the Coalition for the Advancement of Research Assessment (CoARA) in 2023, ANECA has, among other actions, committed to developing an institutional roadmap to incorporate the principles and commitments defined by the Coalition into the Agency's activities. Thus, in July 2024, the Agency presented its 2024-2027 Action Plan. This document details the actions that ANECA is committed to carrying out over those four years to move towards a new culture of evaluation, in which the diversity of scientific contributions is recognized, the emphasis on inappropriate metrics is reduced, and the quality of evaluation processes is strengthened. 

The Agency produces biannual monitoring reports to assess the degree of progress made in each of the Action Plan's lines of action, while introducing adjustments and improvements in its implementation. 

This third report, which is now being published, continues this dynamic of periodic and systematic review of the progress of the Action Plan. It highlights the significant progress that has been made in all lines of action and, among its main conclusions, includes the following points:

• Consolidation of the governance of the reform process: ANECA has continued to strengthen its role as a key player in the reform of evaluation, both nationally and in Europe. 
• Advances in innovative methodologies: A proposal for pilot experiments has been developed, which is being financed with European funds in the second call for Cascade funding, allowing further progress to be made in the implementation of evaluation practices aligned with CoARA principles.
• Strengthening of internal capacities and communication: Training activities are carried out for technical and evaluation staff, and the public visibility of the plan and the actions developed within the framework of CoARA is increased.
• Establishment of priorities for 2026: The analysis of pilot experiments with evaluators, the design of evaluation criteria for research units, and the strengthening of networking at the national and international levels will continue.

The results obtained reflect sustained progress in the transformation of the research evaluation model in Spain, in line with the commitments made by ANECA to CoARA, and highlight the prominent role that the Agency is playing in the national and international ecosystem as a driving force for the transformation of research evaluation.