CoARA by numbers: Research assessment reform uptake in European higher education

Background: Several international initiatives have emerged to advocate for ‘responsible research assessment’ - practices that “incentivise, reflect and reward the plural characteristics of high-quality research, in support of diverse and inclusive research cultures” (Curry et al., 2020). In 2022, the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment established 10 commitments and a 5-year action plan for organisational reforms. Aims: Higher education institutions are key implementation actors of the ARRA reforms as they conduct hiring decisions, manage promotions, and set reward structures that directly shape researcher incentives. This study provides a systematic empirical assessment of European higher education institutions’ participation in the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) and develops a replicable monitoring framework for voluntary research assessment reform initiatives. Methods: We merged data from CoARA (signatories retrieved 5 August 2025), the European Tertiary Education Register (ETER), and other publicly available data sources, covering 3,439 European HEIs across 40 countries. Using quantitative analysis, we mapped participation patterns across institutional characteristics and countries, and examined associations between CoARA and other reform initiatives. Findings: 450 European HEIs (13%) have signed CoARA, with uptake concentrated among PhD-awarding (27%) and research-intensive universities (52% of those in the Leiden Ranking). Geographic asymmetries are apparent, with stronger uptake in Western and Northern Europe and so far lower signatory numbers in several Eastern European and Widening countries. CoARA signatories are statistically more likely to have also signed the parallel reform initiatives DORA, HR Excellence, and EQAR audits. Across all four initiatives, 36% of institutions signed at least one, with 14% participating in multiple initiatives. Meta-organizations such as university networks and European University alliances show substantially higher participation rates.Conclusion: Our merged dataset and monitoring framework provide an important foundation for tracking reform momentum over time. It helps to show that in a relatively short time period, CoARA has gained substantial uptake among research-intensive European HEIs where assessment pressures are arguably most acute, and lower engagement in teaching-oriented institutions and several Eastern European systems. It also suggests CoARA operates within a broader reform ecosystem, with institutions often signing more than one complementary initiatives (DORA, HR Excellence, EQAR audits). Meta-organizations appear to play an important role in enhancing participation among institutional peer groups. As investments and commitments from institutions and policymakers continue to grow, such systematic tracking of institutional participation provides essential evidence for evaluating progress and informing strategic priorities.