Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment

What Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment does

CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment) is an international non-profit coalition founded in 2022 and hosted by the European Science Foundation in Strasbourg, with the support of the European Commission. Its purpose is to reform how research and researchers are evaluated, challenging assessment systems that over-rely on Journal Impact Factor, h-index, and rankings, and instead promoting qualitative peer review that recognizes diverse contributions such as open science, teaching, software, and societal impact.

Its core products are organized around the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment (ARRA) and its 10 Commitments Framework. The coalition distributes its work through thematic Working Groups (peer review recognition, multilingualism, responsible metrics, university rankings, experiments in assessment), National Chapters across multiple European countries plus expanding Latin American representation, organizational Action Plans, a Cascade Funding program for pilot projects, and the recently launched CoARA Collection — a community-owned library consolidating endorsed outputs. The underlying technology is a coalition platform rather than a software product: a website-based membership system, working group documentation, newsletter, and resource repository, with no proprietary APIs, SDKs, or AI/ML components disclosed.

CoARA's business model is non-commercial. Organizations join free of charge by signing the Agreement, with members gaining deeper governance and working group participation. Revenue derives from voluntary sponsorship contributions from member institutions, support from the European Science Foundation and European Commission, and the Cascade Funding mechanism that redistributes funds to member-led projects. Go-to-market is community-led, relying on Working Groups, National Chapters, conferences, webinars, and direct outreach by Steering Board leaders. Over 800 organizations have signed the agreement to date.

Name

Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment

Legal name

Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment

Website

https://coara.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CoARA is an international non-profit coalition founded in 2022 that drives research assessment reform through the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment, serving universities, funders, learned societies, and research organizations across 50+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Research Policy and Assessment Reform Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Research Administration & Compliance (Sponsored Programs, IRB/REB) (EDADAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Institutional Effectiveness & Continuous Improvement Reviews (EDADAGAD), Education Reporting, Dashboards & Business Intelligence (BI) (EDADAIAC)

Keywords

• Research assessment reform
• Research policy frameworks
• Open science advocacy
• Peer review guidance
• Responsible research metrics

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Voluntary Sponsorship: CoARA operates a voluntary sponsorship campaign where member organizations contribute financially to support community ownership and sustainability of the coalition.
2. Membership Contributions: CoARA is supported by member organizations that commit resources to reforming research assessment as outlined in their commitments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CoARA provides the foundational Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment (ARRA), the 10 Commitments Framework, and supporting governance, community engagement, and funding mechanisms (Working Groups, National Chapters, Cascade Funding, Action Plans, and the CoARA Collection resource library) to help research organisations, funders, and learned societies reform how research and researchers are evaluated. Organizations join free of charge by signing the Agreement and can upgrade to full membership for deeper governance participation.

Product overview

CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment) is an international coalition initiative that operates through multiple interconnected offerings rather than a single unified software product. The core of the initiative is the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment (ARRA) with its 10 Commitments Framework, which establishes principles for reforming how research is evaluated globally. The coalition's tools include: the CoARA Collection (a resource library consolidating endorsed outputs), Working Groups (thematic groups developing frameworks and recommendations), National Chapters (country-specific chapters for regional implementation), Cascade Funding Program (supporting pilot projects), and Action Plans (organizational reform roadmaps). Additional specialized outputs include the Idea Catalogue and Peer Review Recognition Recommendations. Over 800 organizations have signed the agreement since 2022.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CoARA Collection: A community-owned resource library that consolidates tools to support institutions in their reform journeys, putting CoARA Commitments into action.
• CoARA Boost & Cascade Funding
• CoARA Working Groups

Products and services

• Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment (ARRA) The foundational agreement organisations sign to commit to reforming how research and researchers are evaluated; signatories commit to recognising diverse outputs, basing assessment primarily on qualitative judgement with peer review, and moving away from inappropriate reliance on metrics such as JIF and h-index. Targeted at universities, research centres, funders, learned societies, and other research organisations.
• The 10 Commitments Framework The ten concrete commitments guiding reform implementation: recognising diverse contributions, qualitative evaluation with peer review, abandoning inappropriate metric use, avoiding rankings, committing resources, reviewing criteria and tools, raising awareness and training, exchanging practices, communicating progress, and evidence-based evaluation. Targeted at signatory organisations developing their Action Plans.
• CoARA Collection Community-owned resource library consolidating tools, guidelines, and endorsed outputs to support institutions in their reform journeys, putting CoARA Commitments into action. Targeted at researchers, institutions, funders, and policy makers seeking ready-to-implement reform resources.
• Cascade Funding Program Funding mechanism supporting institutional pilot projects, teaming projects, and institutional change initiatives to advance research assessment reform across CoARA member organisations, distributed through First Call and Second Call rounds.
• CoARA Action Plans Organisational roadmaps where signatories detail their plans for implementing the CoARA Commitments, including timelines, specific actions, and progress monitoring mechanisms for research assessment reform. Targeted at signatory organisations of any type.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 800 organisations committed to research assessment reform through signed Agreement
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and regional.

• ALLEA (All European Academies)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026ALLEA co-organised the workshop on Recognizing and Rewarding Peer Review in Berlin with CoARA's Working Group on the same topic, bringing together funders, institutions, publishers, and researchers.
• Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 December 2025CoARA and DORA released a joint statement on 3 December 2025 at CERRA2025 in Copenhagen, committing to shared progress and complementary activities. DORA participates as institutional observer on the CoARA Steering Board.
• Science EuropecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025Science Europe co-organised the CERRA2025 conference with CoARA and other partners, supporting high-level discussions on research assessment reform.
• European University Association (EUA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025EUA co-organised the CERRA2025 conference and contributes to research assessment reform efforts, with former Director Stéphane Berghmans having been instrumental in CoARA's founding.
• CLACSO (Latin American Council of Social Sciences)regionalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025CLACSO was welcomed as a Steering Board Observer, expanding CoARA's representation in Latin America and strengthening global reach of the coalition.
• European Science Foundation (ESF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022ESF hosts the Coalition on Reforming Research Assessment (CoARA) and provides administrative infrastructure and support services for the coalition's operations.
• European CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022The European Commission supports CoARA as part of its initiatives to strengthen the European Research Area and advance responsible research assessment reform across Europe.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/i/flow/login?redirect_after_login=%2Fsearch%3Fq%3D%2523ReformingRA%26src%3Dtyped_query%26f%3Dlive
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coarassessment

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment