In a nutshell
The project
Advancing Research Assessment through integrated Open practices and Narrative
The project turns the principles of responsible research assessment into instruments institutions can use. It develops four interventions, adapts them through eight pilot institutions, builds capacity through training and mentoring, and scales adoption through two Early Adopter Programme rounds and Europe’s reform networks. By project end, ARION will have delivered nine Key Exploitable Results and a set of champion networks carrying the work beyond the funding period.
ARION is a three-year Coordination and Support Action funded under Horizon Europe (WIDERA). It runs from 2026 to 2029, coordinated by OpenAIRE, with fourteen partners across Europe and internationally.
Why Reform
Research is far more than the papers it produces
Data stewardship, software, mentoring, leadership, teaching and societal engagement all move knowledge forward — yet assessment systems built around publication counts and journal metrics rarely see them. That narrow view distorts careers, discourages open and collaborative practice, and undervalues the people who make research work.
CoARA and DORA have built an agreement on what responsible research assessment (RRA) should look like. The barrier now is implementation: translating shared principles into everyday decisions about hiring, promotion and funding. ARION exists to remove that barrier , with tested tools, clear guidance and evidence that reform is workable.
Objectives & Work Packages
From vision to impact: our objectives define the key steps towards achieving lasting and meaningful change.
Our objectives
Make invisible contributions visible, through researcher profiles built on open infrastructures.
Give researchers a credible, usable way to describe their contribution, through narrative CVs.
Help institutions embed reform in governance, through model policies and HR tools.
Diagnose institutional readiness and offer each institution a personalised reform pathway.
Build capacity across the sector through training, certification and mentoring.
Scale adoption through two Early Adopter Programme rounds and Europe’s reform networks.
Secure lasting impact by anchoring results in permanent platforms and champion networks.
Work packages
Groundwork for Change: Readiness and implementation pathways
Establish the foundational landscape for research assessment reform across Europe and develop context-sensitive implementation pathways. As a central synthesis work package, WP1 assesses current practices, digital infrastructure alignment, and institutional readiness while consolidating findings from pilots and cross-network validation to produce ARION's final, actionable reform support package.
The Living Lab: Co-Designing and Validating Reform in Practice
WP2 serves as ARION’s Living Lab, where tools and strategies are tested in real contexts, adapted to institutional needs,
and validated through pilots. It ensures that narrative CVs, researcher profiles, model policies, and HR toolkits are not
just designed but proven effective within authentic assessment workflows. By documenting what works, why, and under
what conditions, WP2 bridges the gap between design and European-wide scaling.
Empowering Change Agents: Building Skills and Communities
The goal of this work package is to equip all key actors in research assessment reform with the skills, confidence, and peer support needed to integrate ARION’s tools into their contexts. This work package focuses on building individual capacity, strengthening institutional readiness, and embedding a peer-driven culture of reform advocacy that will sustain momentum well beyond the project lifecycle.
Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation: Scaling Impact from Pilots to Pan-European Adoption
This WP supports change management in RRA by helping RPOs and RFOs integrate ARION tools and practices into their strategies and workflows. It builds on the pilots to broaden participation, enable validation in diverse contexts, and facilitate adoption at institutional, national, European levels. Through partner networks, open calls, targeted outreach, and sustainability actions, it creates the conditions for reform to take root and scale.
Project Management: Coordination, Integrity and Strategic Alignment
Ensure effective project governance, ethical compliance, and quality delivery through comprehensive administrative management, risk mitigation, and stakeholder coordination. Establish robust data protection and inclusion monitoring while maintaining strategic alignment with related EU initiatives and ERA priorities. Facilitate seamless consortium collaboration through integrated management systems and quality assurance processes that support timely, high-quality deliverable production and sustained project impact