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It is time to end our obsession with impact factors. Kuddos to the leadership @UniUtrecht for this bold initiative, championing #openscience and leading by example.

The ambition of Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� in the field of open science stands out on an international level as well. Recently, the website of published an article entitled ‘Impact factor abandoned by Dutch university in hiring and promotion decisions’. In this article, Paul Boselie (leader of the Theme Recognition and Rewards) confirms that Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� says goodbye to the impact factor as a standard for recruitment and selection or promotion of individual employees.

“Science is so much more than a Journal Impact Factor and an h-index,” says Boselie. “As UU, we dedicate ourselves to education, research and impact for a better world. In this regard, science is not a package with a beautiful bow on top (productification) which is then used as a foundation for selecting and evaluating individuals.” Boselie points out that all of this is befitting of a movement that has already started a while ago. “Many departments have been working on this for a long time. And fortunately in the Netherlands, it's also a movement that other universities have fully joined. The following applies to the entire transition to Open Science: this is real teamwork.”

Throughout the world, there are massive responses to the approach of Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ��. Many academics respond positively and UU employees have shown that they are proud of the steps UU is taking. Boselie says: “Of course there are questions, concerns and critical sounds. However, the most important thing is that the right dialogue is had on the way towards open science.”

Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� has the ambition to be a trailblazer in the field of open science. Open science is something you do. And the way in which academics and university employees are recognised and rewarded forms the key to the change in behaviour towards open science that Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� wants to encourage. In the past year, the working group Recognition and Rewards, which is a part of the Open Science Programme, has extensively thought on what a new system should look like, with the following result: the new vision on Recognition and Rewards. This vision has been accepted by the Executive Board with open arms.

The new recognition and rewards will place much more emphasis on leadership, teamwork and commitment to open science. These new starting points are the foundation for the TRIPLE model. The TRIPLE model encourages various academic profiles and dynamic careers. It provides the space to individually apply accents, based on goals and a development perspective that the team and the individual choose personally. This provides the space to set other goals than the purely quantitative indicators, such as the journal impact factor, in the field of research. With this, Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� gives personal interpretation to the national programme Recognition and Rewards, and puts its money where its mouth is after signing