ROARS

The website ROARS (Return on Academic Research), was founded on September 2011 by eight academics and researchers, active both in the field of natural sciences and in social sciences and humanities. The board of editors is now composed by 9 persons. ROARS is one the most important Italian forums for discussion concerning research and higher education policies. Since its inception, we have published more than 4,000 articles, receiving more than 54,000 comments and more that 26 million contacts (data as of September 2020). To date, the typical daily average ranges between 5,000 and 10,000 visits, with a peak of almost 39,000 daily visits. We have more than 3,400 followers on Twitter and a Facebook group with more than 19,000 members.

The distinctive feature of ROARS is its strict adherence to an evidence-based approach to the discussion of policies in higher education and research. Governmental interventions are analysed in the context of the international debate and methodologies. Thus, we gained a widespread reputation for reliability, a key reason for our success. We are often mentioned by national newspapers and, occasionally, also by international magazines such as Science, Nature, Times Higher Education, Euroscientist.

As a spin-off of the blog, we have launched also an international peer-reviewed journal, RT, A Journal on Research Policy and Evaluation.

Here you can find the articles in English already published by Roars: