Reshaping Research Assessment: Monitoring and Rewarding Openness - University of Southern Denmark

Abstract:  Research assessment reform is gaining momentum across Europe, guided by principles such as those promoted by the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA). Universities are seeking models that recognise diverse research contributions, promote transparency, and reduce dependence on journal and publication metrics. Since 2024, the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) has implemented a comprehensive process that links institutional incentives to the systematic monitoring of openess. We will present the SDU Open Science Champion Awards, which are granted annually to the most open research unit within each faculty, as a case study of how universities can start reshaping their research assessment practices by cultivating cultural change via monitoring, and rewarding openness.

The SDU Open Science Champion Awards recognise research units demonstrating strong performance in open access publishing, sharing FAIR datasets, and actively communicating research to society. The initiative encourages research units to make their outputs as openly available as possible, and to ensure that all publications, datasets, and outreach activities are registered in SDU’s research information management system (RIMS), where the OADO (Open Access, Data and Outreach) indicator is calculated. This creates a clear incentive to practice open science while improving the completeness and quality of research metadata. The OADO indicator aligns with the CoARA principles by recognising varied research outputs and practices, supporting qualitative assessment with responsible quantitative indicators, and rewarding behaviours that contribute to a transparent and engaged scholarly environment. Importantly, the OADO indicator helps assess research units on metrics they can directly influence, empowering them to improve openness through their own practices. To ensure fair comparisons across disciplines, we applied a weighted version, the weighted-OADO, which benchmarks research units against disciplinary peers. This avoids inappropriate cross-field comparisons, provides actionable insights for improvement, and encourages consistency in open science practices across faculties and departments. We hope the combined effect of the OADO indicator and the Open Science Champion Awards to lead to a measurable increase in awareness and practice of open science, greater registration of outputs in RIMS, and visible recognition of research units. By linking recognition to behaviours researchers can control, universities can establish a transparent connection between open practices and institutional reward. This presentation will outline the methodology behind the OADO indicator, the award selection workflow, and the observed outcomes. It will also invite discussion on how award-linked openness indicators can support CoARA-aligned reform, foster cultural change, and contribute to broader shifts in research assessment across Europe.