SCOPE Framework for Research Evaluation
The SCOPE framework for research evaluation is a five-stage model for evaluating responsibly. It is a practical step-by-step process designed to help research managers, or anyone involved in conducting research evaluations, in planning new evaluations as well as check existing evaluations. SCOPE is an acronym, where S stands for START with what you value, C for CONTEXT considerations, O for OPTIONS for evaluating, P for PROBE deeply, and E for EVALUATE your evaluation. The following resources available on SCOPE explain the model in more detail:
- SCOPE Full Guide – DOI: https://doi.org/10.26188/21919527.v1
- SCOPE One-Page Overview
- SCOPE Poster
- A blog post outlining the SCOPE process.
- A five-minute video introducing the SCOPE process.
- A one-page high-level overview of the SCOPE process. (Translations: Chinese, Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Brazilian Portuguese)
- SCOPE – a five-stage process for evaluating responsibly.
- A webinar on the SCOPE process for research managers was held on Monday 20 April 2020. To watch the recording, click here.
- SCOPE Case Studies
- University of Turku (2023) POLICY FOR RESPONSIBLE ASSESSMENT OF RESEARCH AND RESEARCHERS based on SCOPE. Available at:
https://www.utu.fi/sites/default/files/public%3A//media/file/Policy%20for%20responsible%20assessment%20of%20research%20and%20researcher.pdf - Loughborough University (2023) Statement on responsible research assessment at Loughborough University based around SCOPE. Available at:
https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/support/publishing/responsible-research-assessment/ - University of Surrey (2023) Use of SCOPE to develop open research indicators. https://osf.io/v9wm8
- Bhattacharjee Suchiradipta, Moumita Koley, Jahnab Bharadwaj (2023). Workshop on Research Assessment Practices in Indian Funding Agencies. Journal of Science Policy & Governance. Vol 22, 1, 2023. https://doi.org/10.38126/JSPG220110
- University of Leeds- Metrics for Monitoring Research Culture
- University of Glasgow – Evaluating Support for the Careers of Others
- Emerald Publishing – Evaluating the diversity of editorial boards
- Danish universities – use of SCOPE in interviews with Danish HE Leaders
- Oslo Metropolitan University – use of Sinorms-scope-case-study-uk-he-funding-bodies-finalCOPE in Masters program
- UK Higher Education Funding Bodies – Using SCOPE to design a new national research evaluation system
- University of Turku (2023) POLICY FOR RESPONSIBLE ASSESSMENT OF RESEARCH AND RESEARCHERS based on SCOPE. Available at:
One of the underpinning messages of SCOPE is not to abandon academic rigour when it comes to management practice. Most institutions have expertise in research evaluation – utilize that expertise! To persuade senior leaders of the benefits of responsible research evaluation, the group has also produced a set of arguments, available in several languages:
- Five arguments to persuade HE Leaders to evaluate research responsibly (Translations: Chinese, Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Brazilian Portuguese)
The INORMS Research Evaluation Group can be invited to facilitate a workshop on the SCOPE process, for more information, please contact the chair [e.a.gadd@lboro.ac.uk].
For news coverage of this work, please see our Outputs & Outreach page.
Any feedback you have on this work, including any local implementations of the SCOPE process, can be emailed to any of the INORMS Research Evaluation Group members
Key Findings and Outputs