About / Partners

Partners

Know Center Research GmbH

Know Center Research GmbH is a leading innovation hub for trustworthy AI and Data Science, based in Europe. With innovative, cutting-edge technologies, in-house research, and high-impact projects, Know Center works with clients in industry, energy, and healthcare, ensuring data science and AI findings translate into concrete competitive advantages for companies. Know Center’s contributions to REALISE are led by the newly established Research Cluster “Accountability, Policy, Transparency in AI (APT-AI)” - formerly the Open and Reproducible Research Group (ORRG).

Involvement in REALISE

Know Center leads REALISE as project coordinator. As lead of Work Package 1 (Project Management), Know Center oversees scientific and administrative coordination, financial management, open and reproducible research practices, and strategic alignment activities with other networks and EU initiatives. Know Center also actively contributes across other Work Packages, including leading tasks on stakeholder mapping (WP2), systematic reviews (WP3) and investigating measures to mitigate bias in grant peer review (WP4), as well as collaborating in other areas including mapping contextual factors and assessing system readiness in WP5 and project synthesis/co-creating recommendations in WP6.

Team

Tony Ross-HellauerTony is a Senior Researcher and Research Cluster lead at Know Center with a background in information science and philosophy. He has led and participated in many key projects related to open science and research assessment, focusing on meta-research, open science policy, scholarly communication and responsible AI.

Klaudia NeuholdKlaudia is a Research Funding Project Manager at Know Center with a background in economics. She has strong expertise in project management and the auditing of research funding projects of national and EU projects.

Andrea BatljanAndrea is a social scientist educated at the University of Vienna with a background in the sociology of migration, political sociology, and the sociology of education, as well as expertise in qualitative research and data analysis. Her research across all fields centres on social inequality.

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Leiden University

Founded in 1575, the University of Leiden is one of Europe’s leading international research universities. With the motto Praesidium Libertatis (Bulwark of Freedom), it has seven faculties and is located in Leiden and The Hague. The university’s research and education work takes place in five distinguished scientific domains: Humans in the world, Resilient and learning society, Technology and society, Peace, Justice, democracy and governance, and Health and life sciences.

Involvement in REALISE

The Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University is involved in several work packages of REALISE, including coordinating Work Package 5 (Assessment Reform methods) and making substantial contributions to Work Package 4 (Assessment tools and methods) and tasks on systematic reviews (Work Package 3).

Team

Andrea Reyes ElizondoAndrea is a researcher at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University, and coordinator of the of the Culture & Evaluation focal area at the same institute. At CWTS, her work has focused on research integrity, citizen science and Open Science. She is also a self-funded PhD at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS) working on the reconstruction of reading possibilities in New Spain during the eighteenth century.

Alex RushforthAlex is Assistant Professor at CWTS, Leiden University and Senior Research Fellow at the Research on Research Institute (RoRI), working at the intersections of research evaluation, sociology of science, and science policy.

Clara Calero-MedinaClara is a senior researcher and director of innovation and impact at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University.

Wolfgang KaltenbrunnerWolfgang is a senior researcher and director of research and education at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University. He is a coordinator of the Culture & Evaluation focal area.

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Radboud University

Nearly a century old, Radboud University is an independent university of national and international significance. Built on traditions of curiosity, initiative, daring and entrepreneurial spirit, the university has grown into an authoritative knowledge institution with seven faculties, which cover a broad and interdisciplinary spectrum of scientific fields. Within REALISE, Radboud University will be represented by the Institute for Science in Society (ISiS), whose mission is to analyse, assess and improve the societal embedding of new developments in science and technology.

Involvement in REALISE

The Radboud University team is involved in two empirical tasks, T3.2 Collecting unpublished evidence, and T4.4 Peer review bias mitigation through reflexivity and transparency measures. In addition, SRU leads work package 6 in which the evidence gathered in the REALISE project will be synthesised and translated into actionable recommendations for our core stakeholders.

Team

Serge P.J.M. HorbachSerge is an assistant professor in science and technology studies (STS), whose main research focus has been on scholarly communication, particularly innovations in editorial and peer review procedures; research evaluation; and science-society interactions, particularly related to public trust in science.

Wytske HepkemaWytske works in the field of Science and Technology Studies, with a background in medical biology. Her PhD research focuses on scientific error correction and, specifically, the role of scholarly literature on error correction. She uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods.

Willem HalffmanWillem is a sociologist of science, researching the organisation and knowledge production of the life sciences. He is currently researching failing error correction processes in the scientific publication system, the organisation of the publishing system, and its relation to research integrity.

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The University of Edinburgh

Founded in 1583, the University of Edinburgh is one of Scotland's four ancient universities and one of the oldest higher-education institutions in the UK. It has a long-standing tradition of academic excellence, research, innovation and global engagement, and a broad history of contributions to significant development in the fields of science, medicine, philosophy, technology and more. Four centuries later, the University continues to work strongly on advancing knowledge, addressing global challenges and creating positive impact both nationally and globally.

Involvement in REALISE

The University of Edinburgh leads Work Package 3 (Consolidation of existing evidence and state-of-the-art), drawing on its expertise in meta-research and AI-enabled evidence synthesis. The team will develop REALISE-SOLES, an interactive, continuously updated resource using machine learning and large language models to identify, screen and characterise research on responsible research assessment. Edinburgh will also contribute to systematic reviews examining the effectiveness of research assessment reforms, helping to identify evidence gaps and inform recommendations for policy and practice.

Team

Emily SenaEmily is Professor of Meta-Science and Translational Medicine at the University of Edinburgh and co-leads CAMARADES Edinburgh. Her research focuses on improving the quality, transparency, and reproducibility of scientific research through meta-research and the evaluation of research practices. She has extensive experience leading international research collaborations and initiatives to advance open science, research culture and methodological rigour.

Malcolm MacleodMalcolm is Professor of Neurology and Translational Neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh and co-leads CAMARADES Edinburgh. His research focuses on improving the reliability and translational value of biomedical research, with expertise in systematic review, meta-analysis, and research integrity. He has played a leading role in international efforts to improve research quality, including the development and evaluation of interventions to strengthen research practices.

Sean SmithSean is a Data Analyst in the CAMARADES group at the University of Edinburgh, specialising in computational approaches to evidence synthesis. His work includes developing tools to automate the identification, screening, and characterisation of research evidence, particularly through the Systematic Online Living Evidence Summaries (SOLES) platform. He brings expertise in programming, data processing, and machine learning to support the development of scalable, living evidence resources.

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Spanish National Research Council

As Spain’s largest public institution and one of the leading research organisations within the European Research Area, CSIC is dedicated to scientific and technical research. It is a part of the Ministry of Science, Innovation nd Universities through the General Secretariat for Research. As such, CSIC plays a central role in advancing knowledge, supporting innovation and contributing to the development of society through research across a broad range of disciplines.

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University of Coimbra

Founded in 1290, UC is a historic Portuguese public university and one of the oldest universities in the world. Located in the historic city of Coimbra, UC combines a rich culture and academic heritage with a strong focus on research, innovation and international collaboration. Today, the University continues to connect its longstanding academic tradition with forward-looking research and education, serving a diverse international community of students, researchers and staff.

Involvement in REALISE

UC leads Work Package 4 (Assessment tools and methods) in REALISE. This includes leading Task 4.1 to engage stakeholders in designing studies to evaluate assessment tools and methods, and Task 4.5 examining the impact of programmes to reward graduate students for implementing reproducible, reusable and open research practices. UC will also contribute to Work Package 3, leading task 3.2 to collect unpublished evidence on research assessment reform and identify research gaps.

Team

Tracey WeissgerberTracey is an Invited Research Coordinator and team leader for the EXCELScIOR ERA chair team in meta-research at the University of Coimbra. Being a physiologist by training, she now focuses exclusively on meta-research. Her research interests include reproducibility, open and reusable methods, developing automated tools to screen papers for common problems and beneficial practices, data visualisation, and research assessment reform.

Inês AlmeidaInês is a Junior Researcher with a background in psychology and neuroscience research. She has designed and runs the CoARA BOOST-funded TREASURE programme to reward graduate students for implementing reproducible, reusable and open research practices in their thesis research.

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Federation of Finnish Learned Societies

TSV is a national cooperative organisation, founded in 1899, that brings together learned societies and academies from across Finland. The organisation promotes collaboration within the research community, supports scholarly communication and publishing, and works towards increasing the accessibility and visibility of research-based knowledge. With nearly 300 member societies and national and international activities, the Federation promotes an open, reliable, independent and diverse research community for the benefit of science and society.

Involvement in REALISE

TSV leads investigation into why and how venue information and the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) continues to be used as a measure of research quality. It also examines national publication venue registers as possible alternatives to the JIF and the role of publication venue in university rankings.

TSV also conducts mapping of contextual factors, such as discipline or organisational mission, and potential biases potentially affecting the adoption of responsible assessment practices. This involves reviewing existing literature and examining organisations that are committed to CoARA through the European Higher Education Sector Observatory.

Team

Mikael LaaksoMikael is an Associate Professor in Information Studies at Tampere University, Finland and has conducted research in the space of scholarly communication and open science for over 15 years. Mikael is experienced in applying a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods for creating new knowledge in the context of scholarly information, ranging from policy/document analysis, bibliometrics & web metrics, surveys, interviews and beyond.

Ginevra PeruginelliGinevra is a senior researcher at the National Research Council of Italy (CNR), with a background in law. Her research focuses on open access, research evaluation, particularly on legal science, and multilingualism in scholarly communication. Her recent work addresses the legal foundations of responsible research assessment, including how courts review academic recruitment and career decisions.

Janne PölönenJanne is Secretary General for Publication Forum at Federation of Finnish Learned Societies (TSV). Lic.Phil. in history (Roman law), his recent research is in the fields of scholarly communication, open access, bibliometrics, research assessment, and learned societies. He is co-founder of the Helsinki Initiative on Multilingualism in Scholarly Communication and a member of the CoARA Steering Board (currently a vice-chair).

Anni RytiojaAnni is a Communications Specialist at the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies (TSV). She creates content about TSV’s activities, services and impact. She also coordinates the development of TSV’s new website.

Karen StroobantsKaren is a Director at CultureBase Consulting Ltd. and has been invited to support TSV. With a PhD in Chemistry and having held several policy advisory roles, she now manages a portfolio of research and research policy projects. She specialises in research assessment and research culture. She developed the Royal Society narrative CV in 2018, was penholder of the ARRA in 2022 and is a Vice-Chair of CoARA.

Mira SödermanMira is a coordinator for Responsible Research Assessment at the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies (TSV). PhD in Political Science (political rhetoric and political languages), she coordinates the Finnish CoARA National Chapter and the development of the Finnish Career Assessment Matrix (FIN-CAM), a framework for researcher assessment.

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SWPS University

Founded in 1996, SWPS University is a non-public research university in Poland. It now operates across six campuses in Warsaw, Wrocław, Poznań, Sopot, Katowice and Kraków. The University brings together education and research in the social sciences, humanities, arts, design and technology, with a strong focus on interdisciplinary and internationally connected research. SWPS University is committed to developing critical thinking, supporting innovation and applying research to real-world challenges, while promoting responsibility, courage, openness and respect for diversity.

Involvement in REALISE

SWPS University contributes to Work Package 4, leading Task 4.3, which focuses on understanding how the societal impact of research is assessed across European research evaluation systems. This includes collaborating with key stakeholders, comparing policy documents, and analysing impact case studies.

SWPS University also contributes to Work Package 5, collaborating with project partners to map contextual factors and identify potential biases related to responsible research assessment (RRA), assess national systems’ readiness for RRA reform, and examine RRA implementation processes.

Team

Marta N. WróblewskaMarta specialises in research evaluation, especially in societal impact assessment, science communication, and academic discourse. She holds a PhD in linguistics from the University of Warwick (2019). Her research focuses on how the societal impact of research is defined, interpreted, and assessed across different national contexts. She has published extensively on these topics, including in Times Higher Education, Research Europe, and Research Professional News.

Anna JamkaAnna is a corpus linguist and discourse analyst specialising in the intersection of language, gender, and social change. She holds a PhD in linguistics from the University of Warsaw (2025). At the same time, she works at the Foundation for Polish Science, where she develops and coordinates programmes supporting researchers in the SSH.

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Pensoft Publishers

Pensoft is an independent academic publishing company specialising in open-access scholarly publishing, research communication and innovative publishing technologies. Founded in 1992, the company has developed a strong international reputation, particularly in biodiversity and natural history publishing, while expanding its work across a broad range of scientific disciplines, project dissemination, science communication and web design. Pensoft publishes journals, books and conference materials and provides digital platforms and services that support authors, editors, researchers and scientific organisations.

Involvement in REALISE

In REALISE, Pensoft leads Work Package 2: Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation. The work package maps and engages the project's stakeholders, builds a clear and consistent project identity, and delivers communication, dissemination and exploitation activities that maximise the impact of REALISE.

Team

Natali DobrevaNatali is a senior science communications expert at Pensoft Publishers. For the past two years, she has been working on EU-funded open science projects, focusing on communicating research, disseminating project results, and increasing the visibility and impact of scientific outputs. She brings over four years of experience in science communication and the coordination of communication activities for European research projects.

Dani BasinaDani is a communications expert at Pensoft Publishers, holding a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a Master’s degree in Publishing. Leveraging her background, Dani is involved in developing communication and dissemination strategies, managing social media presence, and creating content to enhance REALISE's outreach and engagement.

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