WG TIER – Towards an Inclusive Evaluation of Research
WG TIER – Towards an Inclusive Evaluation of Research
WG Objectives
TIER aims at:
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- Addressing the primary sources of unconscious bias and intersectional gender discrimination in the evaluation of research quality and researchers at any stage of their career
- Identifying mitigation actions
- Proposing concrete actions for research assessment criteria and practices that ensure equal opportunities, inclusiveness and valorisation of the diversity
- Producing guidelines and specific consciousness-raising training for evaluators, building on existing resources and European guidelines/project outputs.
Upcoming Events
Updated 28 January 2026
TIER invited to the kick-off meeting of the Italian National Chapter
TIER has been invited to present at the meeting of the National Chapter of Italy on 4 February 2026, which will be hosted by the University of Milan, Italy, marking the beginning of the second term, 2026–2027. On that occasion, Maura Coniglione, TIER’s Deputy Chair, will present the key messages achieved and promote the Dissemination Tour to a wide range of anticipated organisations.
Recent Activities
Updated 28 January 2026
TIER promotes a new survey for institutions on intersectional basis
After collecting useful insights from individuals in RPOs and RFOs, TIER invites CoARA members to compile a new survey on biases in evaluations for institutions by March 31st, 2026.
One coordinated response per institution is required. Questions address various topics, such as research evaluation practices, career progression criteria, bias mitigation strategies, etc. that may require input from multiple offices or experts within each organisation.
How to coordinate your response:
- Download the PDF (or Word) with all questions
- Review the questions with relevant colleagues and departments
- Assign each question to the appropriate expert or office
- Coordinate and draft answers internally using the PDF/Word (to ensure institutional alignment)
- Designate one person to enter the agreed answers into the online survey at this link: https://unimib.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9pmR6CQO6eqxFTU
- Submit once with one unique response per institution
- Deadline: March 31st, 2025
For any problems, questions, or comments, please contact: maura.coniglione@unimib.it
Updated 28 January 2026
TIER presents at the CoARA General Assembly, December 2025
The TIER working group was invited to take part in the General Assembly on December 3, 2025. Silvia Penati, TIER’s chair, presented TIER's key activities focused on studying gender biases in science, particularly gender bias, and collecting best practices for bias mitigation and training of evaluation committees. Key outputs and activities include:
- TIER has produced a report on five case studies to collect current statistics on gender distribution and existing best practices
- Compiled a set of references and online materials for communication and training on gender bias
- Conducted a survey to assess individuals' self-perception of bias in evaluation, with another survey in preparation
- Organised a workshop open to the CoARA community to share insights with other Working Groups (27 June 2025)
- Participated in various meetings and conferences.
Particularly, the idea of a Dissemination Tour in 2026 in various countries has been welcomed by both the Steering Board, to share TIER’s approach with other WGS, and by members in the audience, to train evaluation committees.
Updated 18 December 2025
TIER prepares its dissemination tour
TIER invites CoARA members to collaborate and participate in TIER's "Delocalized Dissemination tour," as the WG finalises its materials and outputs. The Dissemination tour is conceived as decentralised initiative aimed at sharing and discussing the results achieved by the WG TIER across different national contexts.
Through collaboration between the network of CoARA National Chapters and TIER members based in a variety of countries, the tour aims to promote and contextualise TIER's findings and recommendations. The work supports the adoption of concrete measures to mitigate biases in recruitment, career advancement, and research evaluation processes in specific national settings. Early outreach is already underway: Maura Coniglione, TIER Data Analyst and new Deputy Chair, presented TIER's work at Italy's Equality Bodies conference (Counipar) in Pisa (21 November), along with an institutional survey and the Dissemination Tour.
Follow WG TIER on LinkedIn to stay up to date on the group's latest activities!
Resources
Among the useful references being collected by the WG members are GEAR, a step-by-step online guide to develop Gender Equality Plans in academic and research organisations and GRANteDproject outputs:
Gender Equality Plans
GRANteDproject outputs
Inclusive Excellence Report
Affiliated Organisations
- Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
- CERN
- CERN, CNR-Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
- CSIC-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
- European Chemical Society
- EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)
- European Union
- Federation of Finnish Learned Societies
- Instituto Brasileiro de Informação em Ciência e Tecnologia
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT)
- Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
- Joanneum Research
- Kristianstad University
- Karelia University of Applied Sciences
- Marie Curie Alumni Association
- Politecnico di Torino
- Research Foundation Flanders
- Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
- Scuola Normale Superiore
- Universidad CEU San Pablo – Madrid
- Universidad de Córdoba
- Università degli Studi di Cagliari
- Università degli Studi di Firenze
- Università degli Studi di Messina
- Università degli Studi di Milano
- Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca
- Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia
- Università degli Studi di Padova
- Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele
- Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne
- University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland (HES-SO)
- University Medical Center – Groningen (UMCG)
- Wellcome Trust
- Young Academy of Europe
- Zimbabwe Young Academy of Sciences
Activities
Mind the GEPs Special Report
The MINDtheGEPs project published a special report summarising key takeaways from an Open Forum roundtable discussion on gender equality and inclusive progress in research. It highlights challenges hindering gender equality, such as systemic barriers, intersectionality, and data gaps. The report also offers recommendations for institutions on how to promote gender equality.
Survey on Biases in Research Evaluation
From early February to 15 April 2025, WG TIER opened a survey to evaluate systematic biases in research assessment. We thank all those who participated in the survey! Your input is invaluable for mitigating confirmation biases and for WG TIER to develop guidelines to foster inclusive research assessment practices!
TIER presents preliminary survey results at STI-ENID 2025
On September 3-5 September 2025, TIER attended the Science and Technology Indicators international conference in Bristol, STI-ENID 2025. At the conference, TIER presented preliminary results from a survey examining the concept of inclusive excellence.
Around 2,000 respondents from research performing organisations (RPOs) and research funding organisations (RFOs) participated in the survey that focused on key themes, including: perceptions of excellence, bias mitigation, and implicit biases.
In the preliminary findings, High Impact Factor, H-index, and the prestige of publication venues emerged as the most influential metrics impacting the perception of excellence. Respondents identified best practice guidelines, aligned with national legislation and allowing for broad institutional interventions, as the most effective measures for bias mitigation. In order to examine implicit bias for stereotypes, identical statements with only the gender swapped (male -female) have been presented.
Curious to learn more about Inclusive Excellence and TIER's work? Click on the button below for recordings of TIER's recent open webinar, as well as presentation slides and recordings.
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Contact
Interested in joining the WG or have an inquiry?
Please contact us!
Silvia Penati (Chair)
University of Milano-Bicocca
Maura Coniglione (Deputy Chair)
University of Milano-Bicocca