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RISE reflects the University of Antwerp’s ambition to strengthen research in a complex and evolving academic setting. In line with international initiatives such as the and the by the Coalition of Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA), the University of Antwerp acknowledges that high-quality research increasingly depends on academic environments that foster collaboration, openness and inclusion.

While traditional research evaluation models often focus on publication metrics and quantitative indicators, it is widely recognized that high-quality research increasingly depends on collaboration and interdisciplinary work, leadership, Open Science practices, supportive research cultures and sustainable career conditions.

RISE responds to this, not by developing new evaluation criteria and associated metrics, but by introducing an institutional-wide reflective and forward looking model to analyze and assesses our university’s research environment. For example, RISE can identify structural workload issues or gaps in research support services, but can also detect best practices in e.g. mentoring early career researchers which could be developed in other research groups.

By encouraging reflection, dialogue and shared responsibility over research policy and practices, RISE supports a more sustainable, inclusive and impact-oriented research culture by focusing on the conditions that enable research to flourish.

RISE is not a traditional evaluation tool, but a formative, co-creative and development-oriented research assessment model.

Its key objectives are to:

• gain insight into the strengths and challenges of our researchers and research groups
• identify best practices for further development or implementation
• detect structural barriers that hinder high-quality and impactful research
• highlight strategic opportunities for improvement
• stimulate dialogue between researchers, policymakers and academic support services
• contribute to a sustainable and impactful research culture

RISE is a participatory, multi-step process in which research groups, institutional actors and external experts collaborate.

Clustering of research groups

The research groups at the University of Antwerp are brought together in three clusters (Social Sciences & Humanities cluster, STEM cluster and Biomedical Sciences cluster). Each cluster has a separate assessment. Clustering groups according to their broad scientific domain enables the identification of shared needs, challenges and opportunities for learning. This also enables possibilities for further collaboration in the future.

Each cluster has a cluster delegation which consists of a minimum of four professors and two members of faculty administration (usually the faculty directors).

Documentation: group narratives

Each research group prepares a concise narrative outlining:

• mission and vision
• strategic choices
• strengths and challenges (SWOT)

The groups have access to a data dashboard, which provides them contextual information for their narrative. This dashboard is for group-use only and is not used for evaluative judgement.

Documentation: cluster-wide survey

Researchers at all career stages as well as research support and lab staff contribute their perspectives on the research environment and culture through a survey, mapping experiences and needs.

Documentation: reflection report

Input from the group narratives and the survey results are discussed in several workshop-style meetings by the cluster delegation. The cluster delegation writes up a reflection report about the workshops and highlights the most striking and interesting key topics for further discussion with a committee during a site visit in Antwerp. Key topics could be infrastructure, workload and well-being, open science practices, leadership & mentoring, etc.

Committee and dialogue-based site visit

A mixed committee of three internal and minimum three external experts conducts a two-day site visit. The internal members will come from research groups of other clusters (and from a completely different discipline) and have a thorough understanding of  the university and research in Flanders, while the external members bring in an outside-view and are active in a discipline that relates to the cluster. The committee can also be joined by non-academics depending on the discussion topics chosen.

The committee acts as a moderator and critical friend during the site visit. Through roundtable discussions the key topics are explored in depth. RISE invites three parties around the table, namely representatives from the cluster, the committee and the academic leadership responsible for the topics which will be discussed (e.g. vice-rectors, head of the Doctoral School, of HR, etc). as such, RISE stimulates focussed dialogue, mutual learning and shared insights.

Recommendations and follow-up

The process results in concrete and feasible recommendations to improve the research conditions within the university. These are discussed within the relevant academic units (groups, departments, faculties, Research Board, …) and followed up at the correct aggregated policy levels.

As the results may be relevant across the entire university, they are also shared with the other clusters.

With RISE, the University of Antwerp aims to create the best possible conditions in which research can truly thrive — both now and in the future.

By fostering (self-)reflection, dialogue and structural improvement, RISE supports the ambition to ensure that research has the opportunity to contribute maximally in addressing complex scientific and societal challenges.

In practice, RISE translates insights from the assessments into targeted policy adjustments, stronger support structures, and improved alignment between researchers, faculties and academic services. By making recurring challenges and shared opportunities visible, the university can act more coherently and effectively.

At the same time, RISE promotes a culture of openness and collective responsibility, in which researchers are not evaluated but actively contribute in shaping their own research environment. This strengthens mutual understanding between different actors in the university and fosters collaboration across disciplines and services.

In the longer term, RISE contributes to a resilient, self-learning and future-proof research environment at the University of Antwerp, where research groups are optimally supported in achieving their ambitions.