The Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC) has joined the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA), the international initiative driving the reform of research assessment systems in Europe. With this signature, the CTFC commits to prioritising the quality and real impact of research over purely quantitative metrics.
What is CoARA?
The Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) is an international platform launched in 2022 from the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment, promoted by the European Union. It currently brings together more than 800 organisations —universities, research centres, funding and assessment agencies— from over 40 countries, with a shared goal: transforming the way research is assessed so that the value of all scientific contributions is recognised.
Why does the CTFC join CoARA?
As a research centre dedicated to sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation and the circular bioeconomy, the CTFC works in fields where results are measured both in publications and in impact on the ground: better-managed forests, landscapes more resilient to climate change, stronger local economies and evidence-based public policies.
Signing the CoARA Agreement formalises and gives coherence to a way of working the centre already practises: recognising that the quality of science cannot be reduced to a single number.
The three key commitments
By joining, the CTFC embraces the principles of the Agreement, which translate into three core commitments:
- Assess quality, not just quantity. Prioritising the merit and value of research —its rigour, relevance and applicability— over indicators such as journal impact factor or publication counts, which must be used responsibly and as complementary tools.
- Recognise the diversity of contributions. Valuing all the ways of contributing to science: excellent research, but also supervision, technology transfer, project coordination, teaching, data management or outreach — areas often led or sustained by a diverse range of profiles.
- Promote open science. Fostering transparent and collaborative practices —open data, open access, open code— that ensure the knowledge generated has a clear social and territorial return.
What now?
With this step, the CTFC joins a growing community of centres that want research excellence to be measured by the value it brings to society.
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Last modified: 21 September 2026
