The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is pleased to have joined the hundreds of signatories of the Declaration on Research Assessment and the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment initiatives, which propose an alternative set of evaluation criteria for research, acknowledging the broad spectrum of research outputs. Researchers and research outputs have been normally assessed on the basis of metrics such as the journal impact factor and the h-index. Research institutions, funding agencies and other organisations employing such metrics tend to value research published in high impact factor journals and offer incentives (e.g., hiring, promotion and funding) to researchers with high h-indices. However, these metrics can reduce the work of scientists to papers, disregarding other forms of research output.

EGU has always championed a diverse, transparent, and ethical approach to science. This is evident in the activities of our Medal and Awards Committee, for example, which recognises role models to foster the next generation of geoscientists. Awards are based on contributions that go beyond the publication of research papers and quantitative metrics, and some are specifically related to important topics such as equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). In terms of publications, the interactive and transparent peer review process of our 19 open access journals fosters the publication of high-quality and societally relevant studies. By providing evidence of thorough and ethical peer review, the publication of reviewers’ reports in the EGU journals is consistent with CoARA’s view on peer review being central to the qualitative assessment of research. Moreover, together with our partner Copernicus, we provide article-level metrics and guidelines for authorship in our publications. EGU’s Chair of the Publications Committee Barbara Ervens says “EGU is committed to open science and our volunteers provide webinars, training sessions, conference talks, and policy contributions to the community, in line with the recommendation of acknowledging multifaceted research activities and practices.” She continues “Therefore, as the leading European society in the field of Earth, planetary and space sciences, EGU are very pleased to sign both DORA and CoARA agreements, and formalise our continuing commitment to adopting the most up-to-date best practices to maintain high standards of scientific quality.”

DORA was developed back in 2012, recognizing the need for research assessment and emphasizing that the outputs of scientific research are many and varied. A decade later, CoARA built on this by describing the positive impact on science quality when these diverse outputs are fully recognized. Both DORA and CoARA are applicable to all scholarly disciplines and present specific guidelines to the several agents in the global research landscape (e.g., funders, professional societies, institutions and individual researchers). The adoption of a common set of meaningful criteria to evaluate research and researchers is the general goal of both initiatives, leading to more transparency and consistency in evaluation procedures across disciplines and organizations. DORA and CoARA recommend that, in addition to valuing article publications, other research outputs should be recognized. Qualitative indicators, such as the use of research in policy and the contribution of data to the scientific community, also need to be acknowledged.

• Publications Committee