Overview

Project Summary

EXCELScIOR: EXCELlent Science with Impact, Open and Reliable

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EXCELScIOR (doi: 10.3030/101087416) is a Horizon Europe ERA Chair project that aims to develop, extend and fully unlock UC’s research potential through the implementation of a new interdisciplinary Chair devoted to Meta-Research (i.e., “research on research”, also known as Meta-Science). Under the guidance of its senior scientific consultant - Professor John P.A. Ioannidis (from Stanford University, USA) - and other leading international advisors, the project aims to improve research methods and practices and to enhance approaches to integrate information, to generate reliable evidence and to maximize its impact, primarily focusing on Biomedical Sciences, the long-term goal being to expand to multiple other research areas, within UC and beyond.

For that, the project will create a permanent and excellent research group in Meta-Research, recruiting the Team Leader (future ERA Chair holder) and 5 other core members.

Main Goals

EXCELScIOR is a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) with the following core objectives:

O1. To create the core research group in Meta-Research, complete with an ERA-level, permanent group-leader and a multidisciplinary team that will include experts in diverse fields who address meta-research and can cover a wide spectrum of scientific enterprise, among which Biomedical Sciences.

O2. To restructure the research organization and management of Biomedical Research at UC (notably, at CIBB|CNC-UC), in order to uplift its R&I capacity to the ERA level and increase UC’s R&I performance and visibility.

O3. To implement a Doctoral level programme on Meta-Research, Research Methods and Practices, to train and empower a new generation of researchers with tools that will allow them to thrive professionally in the sector of their choice: academic, clinical or entrepreneurial.

O4. To widen and diversify UC’s participation in international/inter-sectoral and cross-disciplinary collaborative networks and RD&I projects, notably in major competitively funded programmes like Horizon Europe and ESIF financial instruments.

O5. To establish Meta-Research as an effective tool to help improve UC’s organizational performance in R&I, along with its impact, competitiveness and international recognition, and lay the foundations to create a new research to action center at UC ‒ METRIC C ‒ bound to operate in tandem with other international efforts in the field, such as the Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford (METRICS).