A framework for assessing and evaluating digital contributions to science and education

This framework sets out how digital contributions to science and education, such as datasets, research software, models, workflows, curated resources, and open educational resources, can be assessed fairly and responsibly in research and assessment procedures. It is deliverable 2.2 of Workstream 2 of CoARA-ERIP. The framework defines what counts as a digital contribution, sets out ten dimensions of assessment that consolidate the working group’s twenty-one landscaping categories, and aligns each dimension with the six values held in common by the CoARA-ERIP community through the Ethics Assessment Alignment Matrix. It rests on an evidence-mapping basis: assessment shows what the evidence of a contribution establishes, against which values, and where the gaps lie, and it does not reduce contributions to a composite score or rank. The Modular Assessment Configurator gives the framework practical form, allowing institutions and funders to configure assessments to their purpose and context while a non-configurable core of safeguards protects those assessed. The framework applies the principles of the policy framework (deliverable 2.1) and is carried into step-by-step method by the methodological guidelines (deliverable 2.3).