The European Molecular Biology Laboratory

The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is an intergovernmental life sciences research organization operating at six sites across five locations in Europe. As Europe’s only intergovernmental organization for life science research, EMBL believes it has a responsibility to be a leader and innovator in the way research in molecular biology is performed and assessed. Since 2019, EMBL has led a drive to modernize the way it carries out research and operates as an organization, and to codify good practices.

As part of this drive, EMBL aims to translate existing good practices in research assessment into coherent, concrete, and aspirational policies.

Having signed DORA in 2018, EMBL convened a DORA working group in late 2020 to develop policies and guidelines for research assessment of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and research faculty.

This includes EMBL’s practices for recruitment, performance review, and promotion. The working group is also reviewing the roles of EMBL scientists on external grant and recruitment panels. These policies are expected to be enacted across EMBL, starting in 2022.