Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA)
Meaningful research impact goes beyond journal metrics to benefit key stakeholders, communities, the general public, and our research disciplines. Endorsed by Concordia University, the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) is a global call for researchers to move away from journal-based metrics and towards a more meaningful evaluation of research quality and real-world impact.
Concordia University Signs DORA
Advancing Responsible Research Assessment to Support Open Science Practices
Concordia hosted a workshop bringing together invited representatives from Canadian universities, funders, research platforms, and not-for-profit organizations.
On March 18, 2025, we agreed that reforms are required to current assessment practices in order to support Open Science practices across the Canadian Research Ecosystem.
Discussions led to the creation of a Call to Action, with 5 key areas for development:
1. Need for national strategy, policy and governance.
2. Funding and infrastructure.
3. Training and capacity building.
4. Evaluation and metrics.
5. Collaboration and communication.
Support from the Library
Concordia offers a range of resources and services to help researchers engage in responsible practices:
- Open access (OA) publishing and more Concordia: learn about where to publish OA, granting agency requirements, institutional membeships and discounts for Concordia authors, and more. A related service is our Spectrum research repository, which supports open access to Concordia Research, thereby increasing impact.
Bibliometrics and alternative metrics guide: Learn how DORA fits into assessment strategies and more.
Research data management planning: Plan for your data to contribute to research impact.
Pathways to Impact: a cross-unit collaboration facilitated by the Office of the Vice President, Research, Innovation, and Impact. The Library is one of Pathways’ unit collaborators, offering researchers an integrated support service for their impact activities. Workshops are forthcoming.