The CoARA Working Towards Open Infrastructures for Responsible Research Assessment (OI4RRA) has just published a game-changing output:

Read it on Zenodo: Conceptual Architecture for the Implementation of a Responsible Research Assessment Framework Built on Open Infrastructures. 

Open infrastructures aren't "nice to have", they are core enablers

In the very first pages of this output, the WG members cut to the chase: open infrastructures (OIs) are "not peripheral supports but core enablers"  of fair, transparent and inclusive assessment. If CoARA's principles are to escape the footnotes of policy documents and become everyday practice, the underlying technology stack must be fully open, seamlessly connected and securely funded for the long haul. To make that happen, the paper unveils a four-tier architecture; each layer interlocking with the next to form a single, powerful engine for change:

Why interconnection beats isolation

• Transparency you can verify: Seamless PID-driven data flow lets anyone trace an indicator straight back to its source.
• Equity you can prove: When every tier speaks the same PID-driven language, software citations, community engagement and teaching records surface alongside papers and patents.
• Efficiency you can scale: Standards set at Tier 0 ripple upward, sparing institutions endless data-wrangling and letting them plug local systems into a ready-made global graph.

Full-stack investment: the non-negotiable

The report is blunt: funding only the “pretty dashboards” while neglecting identifiers or enrichment services is like “paying for an ornate roof while letting the foundation crumble.” To build a resilient, interconnected assessment ecosystem, Research Performing Organizations and Research Funding Organizations must:

1. Strengthen Tier 0: Invest in PID providers (DOI, ORCID, ROR) and metadata standards bodies so every research object, researcher and institution can be unambiguously identified.

2. Ensure Tier 1: Require repositories, OA journals and CRIS systems to open up APIs and adopt shared metadata models, enabling their records to flow seamlessly into global aggregators.

3. Sustain Tier 2: Provide core funding and governance for services that harvest, reconcile and enrich metadata into a unified knowledge graph.

4. Support Tier 3: Co-fund open-source analytics, indicator APIs and narrative-CV builders to keep assessment tools transparent, community-driven and continually improvable.

Co-funding, shared governance and requirement-setting across all tiers are essential; piecemeal grants will leave critical layers vulnerable and the entire ecosystem at risk.

Policy Briefs for RPOs & RFOs

To translate this architecture into institutional practice, the report concludes with concise policy briefs for Research-Performing Organizations and Research-Funding Organizations. These briefs distill the architecture into targeted actions, aligning systems to global OIs, mandating PIDs, opening APIs and sustaining aggregators so that every organization has a clear roadmap for making this critical transition.

Join the launch webinars & co-shape the roadmap

Fri 23 May 2025

11:00–12:00

Register here 

Mon 26 May 2025

15:00–16:00

Register here 

Speakers

· Natalia Manola – WGCo-Chair, will unpack the architecture’s strategic punch.

· Thanasis Vergoulis – Lead, Subgroup2, will share insights and moderate an open Q&A.

Three actions you can take today

1.  Download & read the document on Zenodo, flag the sections most critical for your organization.

2.  Register for a webinar, bring your boldest ideas and questions.

3.  Spread the word! An interconnected ecosystem thrives only when everyone plugs in.

It's time to transition from isolated systems to an interconnected evidence base, and adopt assessment practices where openness, trust and inclusivity flow through the entire ecosystem. See you online!