CoARA Action Plan for the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland FHNW

FHNW CoARA Action Plan Bahnhofstrasse 6, 5210 Windisch www.fhnw.ch CoARA Action Plan for the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland FHNW Brugg-Windisch, November 2025 Authors Dr. Stefan Joller, Vice President, Head of University Development FHNW Lars Bühler, Head Human Resources FHNW Dr. Andrea Kofler, Head Research Support FHNW Dr. Sebastian Perrig, Research Data Management FHNW 1 Preamble The University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland FHNW became a member of the Coalition on Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) in July 2024. By becoming a member of CoARA and signing the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment (ARRA), FHNW commits to advance the assessment of research, researchers, and research units, under the premise of its diversity in research and research activities. The following action plan outlines the activities and measures FHNW will take in this regard. FHNW is a regionally oriented institution and one of Switzerland’s leading universities of applied sciences and arts, active in teaching, research, continuing education, and services—in an innovative and practice-oriented manner. It works closely with industry, the arts and cultural sectors, civil society organisations, and government institutions, to ensure that research results are accessible and can be rapidly put into practice. Its wide range of courses, practical approach, innovative, application-oriented research, and global network make FHNW a diverse and attractive educational institution, a sought-after partner to industry, and an attractive employer in northwestern Switzerland. At FHNW, researchers are encouraged to maintain a strong practical focus and close ties with industry partners, an approach reflected in their diverse career paths. FHNW supports them in developing a broad range of skills through training and development programs, ensures transparency in career paths and requirements, and places strong emphasis on fair and careful hiring and selection processes. In its work, FHNW attaches great importance to research and teaching with direct impact at the international, national, and regional levels. In addition to joining CoARA, FHNW is also a signatory of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and actively promotes and engages in open science activities as an essential part of Responsible Research Assessment (RRA). By signing both CoARA and DORA FHNW commits to RRA, reducing its reliance on journal-based metrics and considering a wide Page 2/7 range of criteria in the recruitment, promotion, and evaluation of researchers and their research, including qualitative indicators such as impact on policy and practice. The commitment of FHNW to open science is reflected in its Open Science Policy, covering four core areas of open science in research and development: Open Access (OA), Open Research Data (ORD), Open Educational Resources (OER), and Open Source Software (OSS). 2 Quality Management at FHNW At FHNW, quality management is based on a shared understanding of quality across the entire organisation and is supported by processes and instruments for continuous improvement and further development. At the operational level, activities are structured into management, core and support processes. The core areas of education, continuing education, applied-oriented research, and development are regularly reviewed through defined quality assurance cycles to ensure compliance with the RICO (German translation: RIKO) framework: • Relevance: Service is geared towards the current and future needs of defined and identified stakeholders (e.g., civil society, culture and arts, politics, industry). • Impact: FHNW members generate added value for their key stakeholders and stakeholder groups. • Conformity: Performance is aligned with the strategic goals of innovation, practice-orientation, regional embeddedness and the rapid accessibility and usability of research results. • Organisation: Stakeholder orientation and efficiency guide FHNW’s actions as fundamental principles. For FHNW and its CoARA commitment, “Impact” and “Conformity” are particularly relevant as they respond to CoARA's requirements for more diversity in research contributions, reduced emphasis on rankings in assessments, and research performance that is not valued based only on purely quantitative indicators. Quality control loops for all core areas ensure systematic evaluation as well as ongoing development and improvement. The loops are defined through clear objectives and specific measures, which are reviewed every four years. Each FHNW school applies the RICO quality control loop in alignment with the model used at the central management level. 3 FHNW CoARA Commitments FHNW’s CoARA action plan outlines future objectives regarding the CoARA commitments while also serving as a non-exhaustive inventory of existing practices, measures, and activities already in place at FHNW and its ten schools. FHNW has identified four key priorities within its commitment to the CoARA commitments: • Recognise the diversity of contributions to, and careers in, research in accordance with the needs and nature of the research. • Base research assessment primarily on qualitative evaluation for which peer review is central, supported by responsible use of quantitative indicators. Page 3/7 • Abandon inappropriate uses in research assessment of journaland publication-based metrics, in particular inappropriate uses of Journal Impact Factor (JIF) and h-index. • Raise awareness of research assessment reform and provide transparent communication, guidance, and training on assessment criteria and processes as well as their use. Supporting commitments: • Review and develop research assessment criteria, tools and processes. • Avoid the use of rankings of research organisations in research assessment. • Evaluate practices, criteria and tools based on solid evidence and the state-of-the-art in research on research, and make data openly available for evidence gathering and research FHNW understands the handling and processing of CoARA commitments as procedural. It will continue to focus on the supporting commitments beyond the first period and specifically focus on strong cooperation with the other members of the coalition. The implementation of the CoARA commitments at FHNW is coordinated by the Vice President University Development and the Head Human Resources FHNW. Page 4/7 4 FHNW CoARA Action Plan: 2025 and Beyond Starting Point Reflection Point Actions and Milestones Reflect on your strategy and change approach Actions: • Through internal committees and HR (RICO based) current and planned initiatives relevant to CoARA are identified. • Connect with other CoARA members to exchange best practices and discuss the future of RRA1 (e.g., through the CoARA Swiss national chapter). Milestone: • The first version of the FHNW action plan is developed by September 2025. Involve your institutional community in the change process Actions: • Organise events and provide opportunities for feedback. • Provide FHNW members the opportunity to share their viewpoints on RRA. • Engage the FHNW schools to reflect on their hiring and scientific performance assessment practices and revise accordingly (RICO based). Milestone: • A workshop is organised at the FHNW Research Day or similar events to discuss the topic of RRA and foster engagement. Identify key challenges to address Actions: • Acknowledge the diversity of the academic disciplines at the ten FHNW schools and the broad needs and practices associated with diversity. • Enhance practice-based approaches, which come with new challenges for RRA. Core FHNW CoARA Commitments 5-year Operational Action Plan CoARA Commitment Actions and Milestones 1 Responsible Research Assessment (RRA): “Responsible research assessment refers to approaches to assessment that incentivise, reflect, and reward the plural characteristics of high-quality research, in support of diverse and inclusive research cultures.” (Responsible Research Assessment Working Group | Global Research Council) Page 5/7 Recognise the diversity of contributions to, and careers in, research in accordance with the needs and nature of the research Actions: • Encourage and support researchers in open science related activities, such as open access publishing and sharing of research data, code, and educational resources, and integrate these activities into research assessment. • Consider diversity in the recruiting process; provide FHNW schools and HR the required instruments. • Commit to equal opportunities at all levels and a diverse environment for studying, continuing education, and working. • Initiate part-time professorships (for example 60%) and joint professorship positions with industry (“Praxisprofessur”). • Encourage the use of narrative CVs in the hiring processes for professorships. • Support post-graduate education both within funded projects and as part of the institutional career planning support. • Encourage employees to pursue further education in their field of expertise and beyond, as well as gathering practical experience outside of FHNW. • Prioritise lecturers, research staff, and assistants that have a strong practical background and professional experience outside the university; purely academic careers are not desirable, and career paths are usually not linear. Milestones: • The FHNW Open Science Policy and Research Data Management information sheet are in place. • The Diversity Goals 2035 and Action Plan diversity 2025 to 2028 (in German) are completed as a basis for equal opportunity and diversity efforts at FHNW. • Training programs on diversity, heterogeneity, and career paths are developed. • Guiding documents for hiring processes are developed. • Programs to foster diverse career paths are developed. Page 6/7 Base research assessment primarily on qualitative evaluation for which peer review is central, supported by responsible use of quantitative indicators Actions: • Introduce transparent selection processes for professors, involving a diverse group of FHNW members (e.g., institute directors, internal and external experts, students, members of HR) and consider the specific characteristics, needs, and culture of the respective position and school. • RICO Impact: FHNW members continue to generate added value for their key stakeholders and stakeholder groups; various publication formats and contexts are supporting the visibility of research in different communities. • RICO Conformity: Performance is oriented towards the strategic goals namely innovation, practice-oriented, regionally impeded and ensured accessibility of research results that can be rapidly implemented. Milestone: • Quality monitoring and controlling–RICO impact and conformity meet the CoARA principles. Abandon inappropriate uses in research assessment of journaland publication-based metrics, in particular inappropriate uses of Journal Impact Factor (JIF) and h-index Actions: • Continuous review of criteria and objectives in the yearly performance evaluation of professors and researchers, including other activities such as teaching. • RICO – taking into consideration quality criteria that reflect diversity. In the context of appointment procedures, academic achievements also include activities such as successful participation in competitions, or exhibitions. • Support and facilitate the visibility of research performance beyond academic publications (metrics), within internal documentation/repository systems. • In addition to specialist knowledge, selection committees convince with practical experience and gender competence. Milestone: • Publication-based metrics at FHNW are applied responsibly and only when appropriate and are always complemented by qualitative criteria and/or alternative metrics. Page 7/7 Raise awareness of research assessment reform and provide transparent communication, guidance, and training on assessment criteria and processes as well as their use Actions: • Communicate transparently regarding FHNW career paths and requirements, including providing the hiring procedure for professors on request. • Organise a series of events titled “KarriereStart FH” to inform about possible careers paths and requirements at FHNW. Milestones: • Relevant information on appointment procedures and career paths is provided on the FHNW website. • FHNW senor leadership is aware of internal documents promoting diversity and qualitative criteria relevant to the hiring process. Supporting CoARA Commitments of the Operational Action Plan of the FHNW CoARA Commitment Actions Review and develop research assessment criteria, tools and processes • Continuous review and development of the various existing tools at FHNW. For example, the IRF (Intuitional Repository FHNW) allows members of the FHNW to store/document research output/evidence of different kinds/formats and for different audiences. Other tools allow researchers from the arts e.g. to showcase their research/performances in the InK (Integrierter Katalog der Mediathek HGK). Avoid the use of rankings of research organisations in research assessment • Enter into partnerships based on topics and stakeholder needs determined by the FHNW research and teaching strategy. Evaluate practices, criteria and tools based on solid evidence and the state-of-the-art in research on research, and make data openly available for evidence gathering and research • Evaluate the current FHNW practices, criteria, and tools using the RICO framework. • Evaluate the FHNW Diversity Goals 2035 & Diversity Action Plan 2025–2028. Communication and Resources (see CoARA commitments 5, 8 and 9) FHNW will actively participate in the activities and events organised by the CoARA Swiss National Chapter, to provide regular updates, share successes, and discuss challenges. Updates are also communicated internally, and resources are provided for staff and training activities to promote CoARA topics.