1.3.5 Reward system and incentives

​​​​​​​A. Background & Definitions

EQIPD Quality System relies on and should become part of the overall organizational quality culture.

The introduction of a quality system will require efforts from every team member.

Rewards and incentives can help to motivate people to work together for a common goal, such as good research quality.​

​B. Guidance & Expectations

EQIPD does not expect any formal documents or analyses to be conducted. However, it is highly desirable that the Process Owner reviews the rewards and incentives and, if necessary, aligns them with the quality objectives: Do we encourage / support publication of negative results?

• Are high-quality results recognized / rewarded irrespective of the outcome (positive/negative)?
• Are people encouraged to develop and implement risk-mitigating strategies and procedures? Are these efforts recognized?
• Are people encouraged not to rush experiments but to invest time and resources in developing/using robust methods, optimizing experimental set-ups and to conduct experiments properly according to high-quality standards (even if it takes more time than initially allocated)?​
• Are internal processes reviewed to make sure that there is no pressure to generate positive results? If there is such pressure, are there processes to mitigate the risks?
• When evaluating new job applications, is attention paid to rigor of applicants’ research?​
• What reward systems/incentives work in your specific environment:
  • monetary?
  • badges?
  • public praise?
  • gifts?
• Does the RU have a reward system to incentivize certain behaviors (e.g. team work, innovation)? Monetary or not.
  • If yes, is the ​reward system used to support your quality goals, good research quality, transparency and open science attitude?​​​

​PLEA​​SE DO NOT FORGET​

​​​​To make sure that the research team members are fully aware of the reward / incentives

​C. Resources

• The Quality Assurance & Training Connection (QATC)​: Sixty Simple Recognition and Reward Ideas

• Experiences from the pilot phase of implementing research assessment reforms for hiring professors at BIH/Charité​

• BIH QUEST examples​​ Financial incentives to support re-use of open data, preregister and to publish negative (null) results

• Open Research Awards - A Primer from the UK Reproducibility Network

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