DORA celebrates five years with launch of live interview series

Since the declaration was published in 2013, it has collected signatures from nearly 500 organizations and 12,000 individuals. DORA has increased awareness about the misuse of the Journal Impact Factor and inspired change in the scientific community. Organizations have started referencing the declaration in research assessment policies that guide hiring, promotion, and funding decisions.

To celebrate a successful five years, we are kicking-off a live-interview series to hear firsthand from individuals who are improving research assessment in their communities. The four-part online series will follow change makers at a research institute, funding agency, and publisher. We will also use one interview to talk with researchers about their experiences of changing the culture.

Our first live online interview will be on May 14 at 10:00 AM (EDT) with Dr. Sandra Schmid, Cecil H. Green Distinguished Professor in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Chair of the Cell Biology Department at UT Southwestern Medical Center. In her capacity as department chair, Dr. Schmid revamped the hiring process for junior faculty.

DORA is a global initiative, and the live interviews will take place over video conference to reach people around the world. Individuals can register on Eventbrite here to watch the first interview with Dr. Schmid about strengthening hiring practices at academic institutions. There is no cost to register for the event, but the number of participants is limited. A recording of the interview will be made available online afterward or those who can’t make it on the day.

Do you have any burning questions that you would like us to ask Dr. Schmid? Email info@sfdora.org.

Editor’s note: A version of this announcement was originally published on the DORA websiteDORA stands for Declaration on Research Assessment and recognizes the need to improve the ways in which the outputs of scholarly research are evaluated. The declaration was developed in 2012 during the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology in San Francisco.

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