Research assessment frameworks in India: Assessing the role of preprints

Preprints are increasingly used, but we know that their use varies widely across geographical regions (Abdill et al.). The countries where the use of preprints is most widespread overlap with those where funding organizations and institutions have signaled support for preprints for the dissemination of research works.

India is among the countries with highest research outputs but research assessment frameworks in that region do not yet generally recognize preprints. To help us collect information for how we can drive further support for preprints in India, ASAPbio, Open Access India and IndiaBioscience will be hosting an online workshop exploring research assessment in India and how preprints can fit into various research assessment frameworks, such as academic hiring, promotion, funding and tenure.

The goals of the webinar are:

Understand challenges around current assessment frameworks in India
Explore the opportunities that preprints bring to research assessment frameworks
Develop ideas to address those opportunities, as well as any challenges in implementation

At the workshop, Satyajit Mayor will provide an introduction about research assessment in India. Iratxe Puebla from ASAPbio will discuss how preprints are being used as part of research assessment in different settings. Following these initial presentations to feed the discussion, we will seek input from attendees on: Challenges of current assessment frameworks for researchers and early career researchers in particular, opportunities that preprints bring as part of research assessment, and steps that Indian researchers can take to advocate for the use of preprints and drive policy change in research assessment frameworks at their institutions/organizations. The format will be highly interactive with discussions in breakout groups.

Date: 7 June 2022

Time: 17:00 — 18.30 IST