A policy framework for ethical research assessment in the digital age

This policy framework sets out the values, principles, and human rights that should govern research assessment as data and artificial intelligence change both the research being assessed and the means of assessing it. It is deliverable 2.1 of Workstream 2 of CoARA-ERIP. The framework grounds research assessment in the human right to science and the rights connected with it, names six values that the CoARA-ERIP community holds in common, and derives from them twelve principles, among them human judgement, evidence mapping in place of ranking, contestability, the recognition of a plurality of contributions, and the openness of research information. It identifies the commitments that fall to research-performing organisations, research-funding organisations, evaluators, researchers, infrastructure providers, and policymakers; distinguishes uses of artificial intelligence in assessment that may be supported, that require particular care, and that are not appropriate; and sets out how the framework is implemented, monitored, and reviewed. The companion deliverables, the framework for assessing digital contributions (2.2) and the methodological guidelines (2.3), carry the framework into method and instruments.