It has become increasingly apparent that research culture – how we do, communicate and value research; how we interact with and support each other – is highly interlinked to the quality and integrity of research.
How to assess research
Last month marked the 10th anniversary of DORA, the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment, which recognizes the need to better evaluate the outputs of scientific research, and which some of the PRBB centres have signed.
At the same time the CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment) has been created to put research assessment reform in the agenda once again, and ensure the way we assess and reward science is aligned with rigor and quality, rathen than quantity.
At the PRBB we have also recently hosted an event on research assessment reform, co-organised by ISGlobal, UPF-MELIS and the PRBB Good Scientific Practice (GSP) group (see here and here for the videos).
Beyond the scientific results
Also in celebration of their 10th anniversary, EU-Life has co-organised with Nature an essay contest on ‘what does a perfect research institute look like’. The winner entries have highlighted areas like sustainability, equality and diversity, wellbeing or transdisciplinarity as ideals to reach, while bureaucrocy and pressure to publish or get funding are vanished from that utopian future.
Indeed, a recent report by the Wellcome Trust has highlighted several areas of the current research environment where there’s room for improvement.
Many conversations are taking place within the scientific community worldwide on how to improve science: the way it is done, assessed and communicated, how and by whom.
Cafè culture at the PRBB on July 6
In this context, the PRBB GSP group has organised an event to join the global discussion to reimagine research culture, and help build a better research environment: more honest and responsible, more inclusive, more open, more impactful, more excellent.
The event, called Cafè culture, will take place on July 6th from 2 to 4pm at the PRBB inner square – and, as per the name, coffee will be served.
The activity is based on the Wellcome Trust Café Culture kits. The event, which will include coffee and networking time, will consist of group discussions about the challenges that should be addressed to improve research culture and ideas or examples of existing good practices about how to address them – at the PRBB and in general.
The whole PRBB community is invited on July 6th to discuss the challenges that should be addressed to improve research culture – at the PRBB and in general
All of the PRBB community is invited to participate. To make it relevant, we encourage a wide spectrum of the research community to join us: from PhD students to PIs, technicians, and research managers and other support staff.
Will you join us? Sign in the registration form as soon as possible and before June 23rd. Places are limited, so we will confirm your space by the end of June.
See you on July 6th to reshape our research environment!
- What: Cafè Culture: reshaping our research environment
- When: 6th July, 2 to 4pm
- Where: PRBB inner square
- Registration here before June 23rd
I am a biomedical researcher with more than 7 years of experience in oncology ,drug development and cellular and molecular bioloy and have work authorisation in Barcelona and eagerly looking for a PhD position in PRBB …If you can suggest something I will be grateful to you .Thanks .