Beyond the Impact Factor: What Really Matters in Research?

What does this mean? It’s about recognising research on its own merits, not where it’s published. Our commitment to this goes beyond DORA, encompassing The Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and our HR Excellence in Research action plan, where earlier this year we retained our award following the eight-year review. By aligning with these frameworks, we ensure that diverse contributions across all disciplines are valued and recognised fairly.

Here’s how we’re putting this into action:

1. Encouraging thoughtful discussions: We’re encouraging schools to start reflecting on how research is assessed and how we can improve these practices. We are also reflecting at an institutional level through this year’s Festival of Research and Knowledge Exchange, which will focus on open research and collaboration. We’re excited to welcome Neil Jacobs, Head of the UK Reproducibility Network Open Research Programme, as a keynote speaker, along with a representative from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Their talks will explore the responsible use of research indicators, offering a valuable opportunity to delve deeper into these important issues.

2. Updating policies: We’re aligning our institutional policies, including the Responsible Research Statement and the Statement on the Responsible Use of Research Indicators, with DORA’s principles to ensure research is evaluated in a way that reflects its true impact.

3. Improving promotion criteria: Our recent research culture survey showed that 66.8% of respondents agree that ‘LBU recognises and values diverse contributions to research’, but 16.4% disagreed, indicating there is still work to be done. To further strengthen the recognition of diverse contributions, we’re enhancing promotion criteria by incorporating narrative CV principles. This approach allows us to better recognise a broader range of contributions, such as mentoring, collaboration, and community impact, rather than focusing solely on traditional metrics. By implementing these principles, we aim to create a more holistic and inclusive system of recognising researchers’ work, supporting fairer promotion decisions across the institution.

Interested in learning more about narrative CVs and how they’re shaping promotion at LBU? We’re developing resources to guide this process and are seeking academic involvement to ensure they’re effective. We’d love to hear from colleagues across the university who are interested in contributing to the development of these resources and the wider implementation of DORA principles. Please reach out if you want to get involved!

If you’d like to learn more about how we’re embracing DORA principles and transforming how research is evaluated at Leeds Beckett, visit our Responsible Use of Research Metrics page and see how we’re shaping a fairer, more inclusive research culture.