DORA (the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment) and CoARA (the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment) are both international initiatives aimed at reforming how research is evaluated, but they differ in scope, structure, and approach. In short, DORA is a foundational set of principles focused on eliminating journal-based metrics like the Impact Factor, while CoARA is a broader, action-oriented coalition that builds on DORA’s spirit to drive systemic change across the entire research assessment ecosystem.
The Core Difference: Principles vs. Action Plan
DORA, launched in 2012, is a declaration—a list of 18 recommendations for funders, institutions, and publishers. Its central tenet is to stop using journal-based metrics (e.g., Journal Impact Factor) as a proxy for the quality of individual research articles or researchers. DORA encourages assessing research on its own merits, such as methodological rigor and scientific contribution. Signing DORA is a public commitment, but it doesn’t come with a mandatory implementation framework.
CoARA, established in 2022, is a coalition with a formal governance structure and a concrete action plan. Its core agreement, the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment, commits members to a set of 10 commitments, including recognizing diverse research outputs (datasets, code, software), valuing open science practices, and reforming peer review. Crucially, CoARA requires members to develop and implement an Action Plan within two years of joining, with progress reported annually. It’s less of a statement and more of a working group.
Key Differences at a Glance
- Origin and Scope: DORA is a single declaration; CoARA is a coalition of over 700 organizations (funders, universities, and research institutes) that coordinates efforts and shares best practices.
- Specificity: DORA gives broad principles; CoARA provides a structured timeline, defined commitments, and a support infrastructure (like working groups and national chapters).
- Enforcement: DORA relies on voluntary adherence; CoARA involves a peer-review-like check on each member’s Action Plan, making accountability more tangible.
- Complementarity: They are not rivals. Many organizations sign DORA first, then join CoARA to operationalize those principles. CoARA explicitly acknowledges DORA as a key inspiration.
Practical Takeaway for Researchers
If you’re a researcher, you’ll likely feel CoARA’s impact more directly in the coming years—for example, through new evaluation rubrics that value preprints or data sharing. If you’re tracking how your institution is changing its hiring or promotion criteria, look for whether it has submitted a CoARA Action Plan. And if you’re writing about your own work, tools like WisPaper’s Scholar QA can help you verify claims about evaluation reforms by tracing discussions back to the exact policy documents and commentary.
