ShareThe Director of AQU Catalunya Participates in the Workshop on the ‘CoARA UB Action Plan 2024–2027’
In the session, organized by the Universitat de Barcelona, Mercè Gisbert discussed the impact of CoARA and LOSU on AQU Catalunya’s activities.
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On Friday, 7 November, the Director of AQU Catalunya, Mercè Gisbert, participated in the workshop organized by the University of Barcelona to present its 2024–2027 action plan related to the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment Reform (CoARA). Gisbert took part alongside the Director of ANECA, Pilar Paneque, in a roundtable discussion on the impact of CoARA on the new evaluation criteria.
In her presentation, Gisbert contextualized AQU Catalunya’s involvement in national and international networks, mentioned the CoARA requirements and the Organic Law of the University System (LOSU), and explained how the Agency is structured regarding the separation of functions between governing bodies and evaluation bodies. Within the latter is the Research Assessment Commission (CAR), which has been responsible for implementing CoARA requirements at AQU Catalunya. This has mainly been done through two activities: the evaluation of faculty research merits (sexennis) and the criteria for faculty accreditation for hiring purposes. Gisbert focused the bulk of her presentation on this second aspect.
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From left to right: Mercè Gisbert, Director of AQU Catalunya; Pilar Paneque, Director of ANECA; and Francesc Xavier Grau, President of AQU Catalunya.
On this topic, the Director of AQU Catalunya highlighted the changes it has entailed. Gisbert mentioned the inclusion of evaluation dimensions such as teaching trajectory and quality, previous professional activity, and leadership and management (for full professors). She also discussed other new features of university faculty evaluations, including the adoption of a qualitative perspective supported by responsible bibliometric use, the incorporation of scientific and social impact analysis, and the limitation on the number of outputs submitted for evaluation, among other aspects.
AQU Catalunya, a member of CoARA since 2022, published its CoARA Action Plan 2025–2029 in September, outlining the steps the Agency commits to taking to implement the obligations assumed at the time of its membership. The document, available on AQU Catalunya’s website and on Zenodo, sets out the development of these commitments over the next four years, until 2029.
