Using a toolbox for recognition and rewards in academic assessments in Norway
In 2021, Norway, Universities Norway and the Norwegian Research Council published NOR-CAM – A toolbox for recognition and rewards in academic assessments. NOR-CAM provides a matrix framework for improving transparency and broadening the evaluation of research and researchers away from narrow bibliometric-informed indicators. NOR-CAM stands for Norwegian Career Assessment Matrix, and was adapted from a 2017 report by the European Commission which presented the Open Science Career Assessment Matrix.
Like its European predecessor, NOR-CAM also posits ways for better integrating open science practices into assessments. The matrix aims to guide evaluators and candidates for academic positions, research funding applications and national evaluators evaluating Norwegian research and education. It is also intended to act as a general guide for individual career development.
The matrix includes six main areas of competence: research outputs, research process, pedagogical competencies, impact and innovation, leadership and other competencies. The matrix then provides suggestions to enable career planning and assessment recognition around each of the criteria – examples of results and skills, means of documentation and prompts for reflection about each criterion. Candidates are not expected to perform equally on all criteria.
NOR-CAM was created by a working group of research performing and funding organization stakeholders, coordinated by Universities Norway, meaning in principle it has buy-in from members of all Norwegian universities. Workshops involving Norwegian universities have been held subsequently to co-develop ways of integrating NOR-CAM into appointment and promotion assessment procedures, and an ‘automatic’ CV system is being developed to retrieve data from multiple national and international sources is in development to reduce administrative burden. Coordinators from the abovementioned three national-level reform schemes have met regularly to exchange their experiences and shared learning.
Reproduced from Future of Research Evaluation: A Synthesis of Current Debates and Developments, published by the Global Young Academy (GYA), the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) and the International Science Council (ISC) Centre for Science Futures Scoping Group.
Universities Norway and the Norwegian Research Council