Research Assessment Reform Movements in the Same Room

DOI: 10.60804/5Y5X-M612

Make Data Count will be part of a pre-conference event focused on advancing research assessment reform across the Asia-Pacific region. The framing is ambitious but necessary: how do we move toward systems that better reflect the full range of scholarly contributions, while avoiding the unintended consequences that have long shaped researcher behavior? For us, this is an opportunity to connect the work we've been doing around data-level metrics and data recognition to a much broader set of efforts. We're especially excited to be in conversation with organizations like CoARA and DORA, alongside regional leaders who are grappling with these questions in different institutional and cultural contexts.

John Chodacki, Director of the University of California Curation Center at the California Digital Library and Make Data Count Advisory Group Member, will be speaking as part of this event. Our focus will be straightforward: if we want research data to be taken seriously, it needs to be embedded within the broader reform of research assessment and not treated as a parallel or niche concern. 

Research assessment sits at the heart of how institutions make decisions about careers, funding, and recognition. For Make Data Count, the throughline is clear. If we want data to count, we have to engage directly with how assessment systems are evolving. That means working alongside others who are tackling adjacent pieces of the problem whether that's rethinking metrics, reshaping publishing models, or redefining what constitutes a meaningful scholarly contribution.

It also means listening. The Asia-Pacific context brings important perspectives that don't always surface in global conversations about research assessment. Policies, incentives, and institutional pressures vary widely, and any effort at reform has to account for those differences while still moving toward shared principles. This gathering in Singapore is one step in that direction. Not a finished solution, but a chance to align efforts, surface common challenges, and build a more connected approach to reform.

We're looking forward to being part of the conversation and to continuing it well beyond the conference.