CoARA Boost CF2 - ARISE - Insights from A Focus Group on Exploring Assessment Approaches

This document presents insights from a focus group on exploring research assessment approaches, conducted within the Horizon Europe CoARA Boost project Advancing Research Assessment in Serbia: A Pilot Project for the Institute of Economic Sciences (ARISE). The focus group aimed to explore researchers’ perspectives on the limitations of existing, predominantly quantitative evaluation systems and to examine alternative approaches aligned with CoARA committments. The discussion revealed broad agreement that traditional indicators such as publication counts, citations, and journal categories are insufficient to capture research quality, impact, and diverse contribution. Participants emphasised the need to contextualise quantitative indicators through qualitative reflection, focusing on the substance of research outputs, their relevance, impact, and alignment with departmental and institutional strategies. Strong attention was given to developmental rather than ranking-based assessment, with evaluation understood as a tool for learning, feedback, and institutional improvement rather than competition. The focus group findings underscore the need for an assessment approach that integrates narrative reflection, external peer review, and responsible use of quantitative indicators. These insights provided an important empirical input for the co-creation of the ARISE Research Assessment Model, supporting a contextualised, qualitative, and development-oriented approach to research assessment.