Academy of Finland confirms support for responsible evaluation of researchers

The Academy of Finland has confirmed its commitment to the national recommendation on responsible evaluation of researchers published by the Committee for Public Information and the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies. The Academy Board decided on the matter in its meeting on 24 April.

The national recommendation is a logical and natural continuation of the international DORA Declaration on Research Assessment, which the Academy also signed in 2019. DORA instructs funding agencies to define openly and clearly the criteria for assessing the scientific productivity of funding applicants. By committing to the recommendation and the declaration, the Academy wants to support responsible research evaluation and its development together with other actors.

The aim of highlighting the ethical nature of the common values, assessment and decision-making described in the national recommendation on researcher evaluation is to increase the fairness of funding decisions and recruitment. Responsible researcher evaluation takes into account a wide range of career paths, different research outputs, impact and the promotion of open science. The recommendation emphasises to new reviewers that the scientific content of an article is more important than publication metrics or the reputation of the journal that published the article.

The Academy of Finland’s existing review process already complies with the principles of DORA and the national recommendation in many respects: 

• The objectives and criteria of our funding instruments and our review procedure are available online.
• Our reviews are primarily based on assessments of the proposed research plans.
• Applicants can highlight a wide range of research outputs in the CV and the publication list.
• Our decision-makers pay attention to the societal impact of the planned research.
• Applicants can access the review report, which benefits the further planning of their research.

The objectives and detailed practices of the national recommendation on responsible evaluation of researchers will be taken into account at the Academy of Finland in developing the review process and deciding on research funding. The principles of responsible evaluation will be applied to each funding scheme in the most appropriate manner. The reforms based on the recommendation will be introduced starting from calls to be opened in 2021.

Read more: Good Practice in Researcher Evaluation. Recommendation for the Responsible Evaluation of a Researcher in Finland (PDF)