The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), an initiative that operates under the sponsorship of the American Society for Cell Biology, was founded in 2013 with an initial aim to raise awareness of the problematic metrics used to assess research and researchers. Over the last ten plus years, in response to the rising tide of dissatisfaction with narrow foci of research assessment exercises, DORA’s focus has broadened in the attempt to herald a new era of research assessment—one where research and researchers are valued more holistically, based upon the diversity of contributions to knowledge, research, and society.

The DORA team is excited to launch a Practical Guide, to help those working in research performing organizations adopt responsible research assessment (RRA) practices and reform outdated practices. The Guide has been created as part of Project TARA and which, alongside Reformscape, the Building Blocks for Impact, and the Debiasing Committee Composition, forms a suite of tools designed to help organizations who are seeking to refocus on research quality and impact in their assessment practices. 

The touch points and influences on research assessment policies and practices across most research performing organizations are highly diverse. Therefore, we made the Guide intentionally broad and inclusive, catering for those in research leadership roles, faculty, administrative managers and staff; those responsible for shaping organizational policies and recruitment practices; research communication; library and outreach staff; researchers at all career stages; as well as individuals and teams who may be shaping research culture-related initiatives. 

We know that many organizations are keen to reform their research assessment practices but lack the time, space and/or expertise to reflect on how to do this and often don’t know where to start. The Guide presents practical advice and tips—such as engaging the organization leadership, creating a working group, and developing a communication and engagement plan—that we know from our work with the DORA community over the last decade can make a real difference in delivering change. To inspire action, the Guide is threaded with examples from across the world of organizations who have developed and adopted RRA approaches—including three new examples from universities in Canada, Denmark and Japan.

Of course, each organization is different, and one size does not fit all in the practice of research assessment. To this end the Guide is not intended to be prescriptive; we encourage organizations to use the Guide flexibly—use it in its entirety or draw upon pieces that are most relevant. 

To celebrate this milestone and gather global perspectives, DORA hosted three virtual launch events across the Asia-Pacific, Africa & Europe, and Americas regions, all available on DORA’s YouTube channel. Across the three launch events that marked DORA’s 12^th anniversary, several common themes emerged: the critical importance of community building and dialogue, the necessity of leadership support and buy-in, the value of case studies and practical examples, the need to address resistance and fear associated with change, and the understanding that implementing responsible research assessment is a cultural shift requiring sustained effort and collaboration among various initiatives and stakeholders.

The Guide reflects the hard work of many contributors. We particularly want to thank the participants of a January 2025 working meeting in Washington, D.C., USA who provided valuable reflections that have helped to shape this Guide. We would also like to thank the Arcadia Foundation who provided the funding for Project TARA. The Guide is available for download open access. 

Please reach out to us (info@sfdora.org) if we can answer any questions or to share how you used this resource, and if you would like DORA to introduce the Guide to your research organization. DORA is eager to support the use of these resources and to hear how they are being used.