Promoting excellence through research assessment reforms

Scientific excellence is a central guiding principle for funding decisions, academic careers, and institutional strategies. At the same time, the concept remains elusive and cannot be reduced to short-term productivity or easily quantifiable output metrics. Rather, scientific excellence can also manifest itself in long-term knowledge-building processes, high-risk research, and collaborative and open scientific practices, thereby posing challenges to existing assessment and evaluation systems.

This workshop report was prepared in connection with the meeting of the CoARA National Chapter Germany on October 10, 2025. The Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) is an international initiative aimed at reforming research assessment with the goal of evaluating scientific quality in a more qualitative, responsible, and diversity-oriented manner.

1. What characteristics distinguish excellent research?
2. What framework conditions must be met for excellent research?
3. How do CoARA’s principles promote excellence?

This is a translation of the original German Publication: CoARA National Chapter Germany. (2026). Förderung von Exzellenz durch Reformen der Forschungsbewertung. CoARA National Chapter Germany. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20348630