On 14 November 2025, representatives from several organizations across the publishing reform and research assessment reform communities gathered in Pisa, Italy, for a workshop aimed at identifying and advancing joint actions to strengthen both movements.
Co-hosted by ASAPbio, Leiden University's Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), DORA, and the International Science Council (ISC), the meeting marked an important step in building momentum toward a more coordinated and impactful approach to reform across research assessment and publishing. The organisers share the view that meaningful progress in publishing and research assessment depends on deeper collaboration between reform initiatives and, where possible, alignment of their agendas.
The workshop involved international representatives from a range of stakeholder groups including:
- Open science and assessment reform initiatives: African Journals Online (AJOL), Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA), HELIOS Open, Latin American Forum for Research Assessment (FOLEC-CLACSO), Make Data Count, SPARC, Strategies for Open Science (Stratos)
- Publishers: Cambridge University Press, eLife, PLOS
- Research institutes & universities: DST Centre for Policy Research, Maynooth University, Research on Research Institute (RoRI)
- Research funders & policymakers: Austrian Science Fund (FWF), European Commission, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), National Research Foundation South Africa (NRF)
- Academies and researcher networks: Federation of Finnish Learned Societies, Marie Curie Alumni Association
A shared agenda of challenges
Discussions centred on key challenges at the intersection of publishing and research assessment, including overreliance on journal-based indicators, dependence on selective bibliographic databases, limited recognition of peer review and other essential research activities, and an excessive focus on journal articles relative to other research outputs. In breakout groups, participants explored practical gaps in existing initiatives, the need for more robust metadata and infrastructures to track diverse research contributions, and strategies to engage underrepresented voices and key decision-makers such as university leaders and funders. Participants also highlighted the importance of discipline-specific approaches, the professionalisation of research assessment, fostering community governance of infrastructures, and developing interoperable, globally informed standards and metadata frameworks.
Building momentum for collaboration
While the workshop highlighted the complexity of the challenges ahead, it also reaffirmed the potential for coordinated, multi-layered action to drive meaningful change. Participants noted that although many promising initiatives already exist, stronger connectivity among them, and greater alignment across sectors, will be essential to shifting entrenched norms and shaping a more coherent global landscape for research assessment and dissemination.
The workshop marks an important step in a shared effort to build a research ecosystem that more fully recognises diverse scholarly contributions, strengthens research quality and integrity, and advances more inclusive and equitable practices across disciplines and regions.
Although this was an invite-only preparatory meeting, the organisers emphasised that it forms part of a wider, ongoing process of community engagement. The insights gathered in Pisa will inform future, more inclusive activities, including a meeting convened by the ISC's Forum on Publishing and Research Assessment, ensuring broader opportunities for the global research community to contribute to and shape the next stages of this work.
The organisers are processing the many rich insights resulting from the Pisa workshop. Together with participants and partners, follow-up actions will be identified to deepen collaboration in the months ahead and to expand the conversation to include a broader range of actors in the global research landscape.
Cross-posted with the International Science Council (ISC), ASAPbio, and DORA.
