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The ARION interventions

Four interventions,
one connected system

Each is developed, piloted and scaled with institutions, then published openly so any organisation in Europe can adopt it. Start with one, or combine all four.
01 Digital Profiles
02 Narrative CVs
03 Model Policies
04 HR Toolkits

How they work together

Profiles provide the evidence, narrative CVs give it meaning, and policies and HR toolkits make sure it counts in real decisions.

01 Intervention 01

Digital research profiles

Surface the contributions that metrics miss, drawn from open infrastructures.
Enhanced researcher profiles draw on open infrastructures so that data stewardship, software, mentoring, leadership and societal engagement appear alongside publications. Instead of a single number, an assessor sees a fuller, verifiable picture of what a researcher contributes, assembled from open sources rather than re-keyed by hand. Researchers stay in control of what their profile shows.

How it works

  • 1
    Import
    Outputs and activities flow in automatically from ORCID, the OpenAIRE Graph and institutional CRIS systems.
  • 2
    Add what systems miss
    Simple forms let researchers record activities no database captures, such as societal engagement, entrepreneurship, policy advice, mentoring and outreach.
  • 3
    Show skills with evidence
    Researchers map their skills to the ResearchComp competence framework and link each one to supporting evidence from their profile.
  • 4
    Reuse
    The same evidence fills applications, dossiers and narrative CVs, so researchers enter it once.

What ARION delivers

  • Digital Integration Guide. Guidance for aligning profiles with CRIS, ORCID, OpenAIRE and HR systems.
  • Pilot-tested profile fields.Tested with institutions, including light-touch options for smaller teams.

Example profile

Illustration only
ORCID linked
Publication
via OpenAIRE Graph
Dataset
via OpenAIRE Graph
Software
via OpenAIRE Graph
Doctoral supervision
via CRIS/manual
Public engagement
via CRIS/manual

Infopack

For
ResearchersInstitutionsAssessment panels
Status
Pilot, open for testing
Informed by
Supplies evidence to Narrative CVs

In practice

The University of Cyprus is trialling light-touch profile and narrative CV fields in GNOSIS, its institutional CRIS.

Explore researcher profiles

02 Intervention 02

Narrative CVs

A usable format and guidance, so researchers can describe their contribution in context.
A practical narrative CV format, with guidance and worked examples, lets researchers describe what they contributed and why it mattered, not only where they published. It gives assessors a consistent, comparable way to read contribution in context, and researchers a fair way to present the whole of their work.

How it works

  • 1
    Co-develop
    Institutions and researchers shape templates together through the MCAA Peer Exchange Platform for narrative-style CVs.
  • 2
    Share
    Templates are deposited in a common Registry, described by audience, assessment purpose and guiding questions.
  • 3
    Evidence
    Profile data populates the narrative sections, so every claim is backed by verifiable evidence.

What ARION delivers

  • Narrative CV templates. Adaptable and multilingual, with worked examples.
  • Assessment Guidance. Reviewer guides for reading narrative CVs fairly and consistently.
Explore narrative CVs

Narrative CV template

From Registry
What did you contribute?
Why did it matter, and for whom?
Evidence from your profile
DatasetSoftware

Infopack

For
ResearchersInstitutionsFunders
Stage
Pilot, open for testing
Informed by
Draws evidence from Researcher Profiles

In practice

HEAL-Link is piloting a Greek-language narrative CV, and UEFISCDI is testing multilingual narrative CVs at national level in Romania.

03 Intervention 03

Institutional Model Policies

Governance templates that make responsible assessment part of how decisions are made.
Technology alone does not change institutions. Model policies provide the governance structures that embed responsible assessment principles into institutional decision-making, so that profiles and narrative CVs become standard practice rather than experimental additions.

How it works

  • 1
    Start from a template
    Adaptable templates build on OpenAIRE's widely used policy templates and checklists.
  • 2
    Adapt
    Institutions tailor the policy to their governance, culture and national context.
  • 3
    Embed
    The policy connects to strategic planning, quality assurance and reporting, so it shapes routine decisions.

What ARION delivers

  • Model policy templates. Ready to adapt for research-performing and research-funding organisations.
  • Policy Roadmap for RRA Reform. Implementation guides for building reform into strategic planning, based on DORA's Practical Guidelines for Implementation.

Model policy template

Adapt to your context

Principles and scope
Recognised contributions
Responsible use of indicators
Roles and governance
Review and monitoring

Infopack

For
Stage
Developing
Informed by
Sets the rules applied by HR Toolkits

In practice

tbc.
Explore Model Policies

04 Intervention 04

HR Toolkits

Practical guidance that turns policy into everyday recruitment, promotion and evaluation.
HR toolkits translate model policies into the workflows where careers are decided. Built on the SECURE Research Career Framework, which puts ResearchComp and the EU Council Recommendation on research careers into practice, they help institutions attract and retain talent and assess it fairly.

How it works

  • 1
    Benchmark
    Institutions assess current practice against the eight thematic areas of the framework.
  • 2
    Plan
    Adaptable templates help build an institutional action plan around local priorities.
  • 3
    Apply
    A curated resource bank, drawing on ResearchComp, the Vitae Researcher Development Framework and HR Excellence in Research, supports each step.

What ARION delivers

  • Enhanced HR toolkits. Benchmarking instruments, action plan templates and new guidance where gaps exist.
  • Deployment Playbooks. Implementation models distilled from pilot experience.

Eight thematic areas

SECURE framework

Strategy
Stability
Conditions
Skills
Mobility
Assessment
Pathways
Interoperability
80 actions across eight areas, with assessment as the focus for ARION.

Infopack

For
Stage
Developing
Informed by
Puts Model Policies into practice

In practice

tbc.
Explore HR toolkits
Where to start

Not sure which intervention fits your institution?

The Readiness Compass maps your governance, culture and infrastructure, and the Reform Navigator suggests the right entry point and pathway.

Check your readiness

Readiness Compass and Reform Navigator
Coming Summer 2027