What are the goals of the Community?
The starting point of the initiative is the recognition that science is experiencing a global crisis in its evaluation system. For over a decade, the challenges have been articulated in statements and appeals, such as the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and the Hong Kong Principles for Assessing Researchers. Common to all these is the call for a more responsible approach to research evaluation. In 2022, the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment (ARRA) was adopted, aiming to focus research evaluation more on qualitative content while considering a broader range of types of contributions and activities in academia. This calls into question evaluation approaches that rely predominantly or exclusively on "universal" indicators like the h-index or the Journal Impact Factor, advocating instead for more responsible approaches to the use of scientometric indicators.
Although insights from this discourse have already reached many German research institutions, the role of research managers has so far been largely overlooked. However, the necessary change in evaluation culture can only succeed if stakeholders at all (functional) levels are informed and competent enough to actively support this change—including research managers.
To play a proactive in the movement to reform research assessment, research managers need to acquire new expertise, develop new advisory strategies, network with others, and find their role in this transformation process. However, this process of self-reflection and role-identification among practitioners in research management in the context of responsible research assessment is still in its early stages. The initiative "Research Managers in Motion" aims to make a contribution by bringing together research managers who work with bibliometric and scientometric questions at their institutions and wish to share their experiences within a Community of Practice. Networking with experts from the field of scientometrics is also intended to be part of the community's work.
