Distributed Peer Review at ESO: Demonstrating Success and Evolving Through Period 115

ESO’s Distributed Peer Review (DPR) has transformed proposal evaluations by fostering efficiency and community involvement, making it an essential tool for handling the large volume of proposals traditional panels cannot review alone. A key strength of DPR is its inclusion of the entire community, engaging researchers at all career levels and identifying expert reviewers. This article summarises updated findings up to Period 115, focusing on expertise assignment, DPR comment usefulness and user satisfaction. DPR’s success supports its planned expansion into fast-track channels and yearly cycles. ESO is also exploring further innovations to optimise this process.