The Activity Framework of the University of Graz

The University of Graz’s Activity Framework serves to define expectations regarding academic performance and to make the actual contributions of academics more visible.

It provides greater clarity regarding academic relevance, offers guidance and supports the targeted use of one’s own working time. Furthermore, it forms a basis for the transparent presentation of academic achievements, thereby strengthening their recognition within the university.

Origins and development

The University of Graz’s Activity Framework (AF) emerged from a long-standing internal development process, which since 2009 has been shaped by numerous discussions, workshops and exchanges with international initiatives such as DORA, the EU Competence Framework and, in particular, the CoARA Commitments. The aim of the AF is to view academic achievements from multiple perspectives and to place greater emphasis on qualitative aspects. In contrast to traditional, primarily quantitative evaluation approaches, the framework also takes into account, for example, the promotion of early-career researchers, science communication, teaching activities and academic self-governance, thereby ensuring greater visibility and recognition of various facets of academic work.

The AF is not an evaluation tool nor a target with consequences under employment law, but rather an informative and supportive tool. It creates a new basis for individual planning and development within the context of staff appraisals and is aimed at all career stages and faculties. Structurally, the AF consists of standard items that apply to all academic disciplines and are clearly presented in the Activity Dashboard using existing data sources, as well as optional items that can be selected according to relevance and addressed individually in dialogue. The introduction is taking place in stages, with the content being continuously reviewed and adapted to current developments. The framework is embedded in the University of Graz’s development plan and is communicated transparently as early as the onboarding of new staff.

With the Activity Framework, the University of Graz is undergoing a cultural shift towards open, fair and diverse recognition of academic achievements. The aim is to create transparency, highlight individual achievements, provide guidance for career planning, and further develop the culture of dialogue and the evaluation of performance.

Structure of the framework

The current Activity Framework comprises 8 standard items and 21 optional items for describing and recognising academic achievement.

• The 8 standard items describe the fundamental requirements for academic staff in general and are to be understood as a university-wide ‘standard’ or basis for all faculties and disciplines. 

• The 21 optional items are, in addition, relevant performance elements that may be more relevant in certain disciplines or particularly meaningful for specific individuals. 

Each faculty has the option to adapt the framework to its specific needs. This creates a practical and relevant recognition structure for researchers.

A broad understanding of academic achievement

One such ‘item’, alongside the obviously necessary topic of ‘publications’, is, for example, ‘Science to Public’. As a university, one of our public mandates is to make academic discourse and research findings visible and accessible. This requires publications, lectures, collaborations and similar tools. This involves a significant amount of researchers’ working time. We wish to value this work and the results it produces.

In addition to the topics of ‘publications’ and ‘Science to Public’, there are other areas of responsibility that are important for a modern university.

These include, for example: 

• Supporting early-career researchers.

• Management work within the institute. After all, there are almost 5,000 staff members at the University of Graz.

• Supervisory work in education: teaching, examination periods, supervision of final theses, …

• The further development of teaching methodologies

• Networking with non-university organisations

With the Activity Framework (AF), the University of Graz has a modern tool that makes academic activity at the University of Graz more visible. The aim of the AF is to describe the expectations placed on researchers and to better reflect their actual performance. Academic work encompasses not only publications but also many other aspects. The Activity Framework is being introduced to illustrate this more clearly in future. It applies to all academic staff, i.e. professors, assistants and other teaching staff, as well as pre- and post-docs.

Objectives of the Activity Framework: As a multi-perspective tool, the AF pursues several objectives, which are also incorporated into the University’s strategic planning.

For the sake of completeness, it should also be made clear here which factors are NOT objectives of the University of Graz for the Activity Framework:

→ Under no circumstances is the intention to create ‘even higher’ expectations; rather, the work already carried out is to become more transparent.

• This is not about punishment or personal consequences. The AF will make work more transparent, thereby making achievements visible.
• It is about clarity, visibility, direction and guidance.
• No additional administrative burden is to be created. Almost exclusively existing processes and data will be used. The additional administrative workload for staff should therefore remain minimal. (However, if data maintenance for the WUP that has already been required, such as publications or projects in the research portal, has not yet been carried out, the introduction of the new dashboard will likely make the lack of data maintenance even more visible.)
• No personal consequences are envisaged for non-participation in the AF. For the sake of clarity, however, it should be noted that the Rectorate nevertheless hopes and expects that the AF, as a new and future common basis for the presentation of academic work at the University of Graz, will soon be used in all academic fields. The presentation of achievements in the dashboard will take place under the new concept for all WUPs from October onwards.
• As before, however, certain topics are to be specifically agreed upon in contracts if they are particularly relevant to the area of responsibility. These are primarily matters that are already laid down in QVs and EVs.
• The Activity Dashboard aims to provide a personalised performance overview in as ‘standardised a format’ as possible (i.e. an ‘overview’). This greatly simplifies readability. There are currently no plans to offer customised data presentation within the Activity Dashboard. However, as it is a personal profile, there is of course the option for personalised content.
• There are currently no plans to replace the Research Portal. The existing profile in the Research Portal will therefore remain visible until further notice, even though the new Activity Dashboard is already available within the AF structure.
• Implementation will take place in stages – extending beyond 2025. Consequently, not everything will be completed or available by the end of 2025.
• The AF items and the Activity Dashboard are designed for WUPs. There are currently no plans to use this framework for AUPs as well. Consequently, there will be no dedicated dashboard for AUPs. _

The AF is a transparent tool that has emerged from a long-standing, in-house process and has gained in importance since the signing of the CoARA membership in 2022. It expands the presentation of researchers’ (WUPs) contributions to include the often ‘invisible’ contributions and burdens of everyday academic life. These additional contributions are key components in the maintenance and further development of the department, the academic discipline and the institute.

Integration into staff appraisals 

The recorded items are also used as a basis for internal discussions. The framework offers clear guidance, particularly for early-career researchers, and enables the definition of individual goals. This provides managers with a structured tool to support staff in a targeted manner and to recognise academic achievements fairly.