Open University commitment to DORA

In November 2020 The Open University (OU) signed the San Francisco Declaration of Research Assessment (DORA).

DORA is relevant to all disciplines and researchers at all stages of their career. DORA has a vision and main objectives which the OU will implement through:

• recognizing the need to improve the ways in which researchers and the outputs of scholarly research are evaluated
• embedding a culture that recognises the need to use metrics responsibly in all research assessment processes
• being explicit about the criteria used to reach hiring, career advancement and promotion decisions
• considering, for the purposes of research assessment, the value and impact of all research outputs (including datasets and software) in addition to research publications as well as a broad range of impact measures including qualitative indicators of research impact, such as influence on policy and practice.

The DORA implementation plan adhered to the OU's Statement on the responsible use of research metrics and was informed by the ten principles of the Leiden Manifesto.

The OU is committed to ensuring equity, diversity and inclusion in its research practices as per the OU Strategy and the OU Research Plan.

Contacts

If you have any queries or would like to find out more about how The Open University is implementing DORA, please contact the Open Research mailbox.