Responsible Research in Action Unconference: Rethinking How We Do Research – Together

We all encounter systemic challenges in our everyday research practice. From outdated assessment systems and misaligned funding models to barriers in transparency and societal impact, it’s clear that the way we “do” research often falls short of its potential. Many of us carry ideas, experiences, and visions for how things could be better. What we often lack, however, are the time, tools, and support structures to actually implement change.

That’s exactly where the Responsible Research in Action unconference steps in.

Built on the idea that the most meaningful conversations often happen over coffee or in the corridors between sessions, unconferences flip the script of traditional events—putting informal exchange, collaboration, and peer-driven problem-solving at the center.

Registration is open for this event, which takes place in Berlin from September 22–24, 2025, the Responsible Research in Action unconference will bring together not just researchers, but a diverse mix of funders, publishers, institutional leaders, patient representatives, and other key stakeholders. Participants will work side by side to co-create outputs and actionable solutions for more responsible, inclusive, and effective research practices.

The setting is equally conducive to bold thinking. Conversations will spill over from working sessions into shared meals and informal exchanges—including a networking dinner held among towering fossils in the iconic dinosaur hall of Berlin’s Natural History Museum. In a space that holds the traces of deep time and evolution, participants will reflect on what kind of research culture they want to help shape for the future—and how we might get there together.

Because lasting change requires more than good ideas. It requires shared ownership, mutual understanding, and the kind of ecosystem-wide collaboration that this unconference aims to spark.

At the heart of the unconference are ten projects, selected through a global open call by our international program committee—comprising experts from diverse research backgrounds, including representatives from PLOS. The selected projects span a range of key challenges in research culture. Three major themes guide this year’s work:

Reproducibility

Several projects focus on improving reproducibility. This includes pilot testing a checklist of core reproducibility checks, collaboratively developing a reporting guideline for reproducibility studies, and co-creating stakeholder-specific roadmaps to improve the uptake of pre-registration and reporting guidelines in biomedical research.

Research assessment reform

Two projects address the challenge of how we evaluate research and researchers. One group will create a guide to help researchers and administrators address common objections to research assessment reform, based on existing evidence. The second group will focus on misaligned incentives. Rewards and incentives for researchers often reward undesirable behaviors, while encouraging problematic ones. Participants will address this problem by collaboratively developing use cases to help academics apply a value-based evaluation framework across different disciplines and evaluation settings. 

Improving research culture

Participants will co-create a roadmap to implement Science Europe’s proposed vision for improving research culture, by participating in a highly interactive design-thinking workshop.

A full list of the ten projects, along with short video presentations, is available here.

Each project brings together participants from multiple sectors of the research landscape, ensuring solutions are co-created with the diverse perspectives they need to succeed—right from the start.

Whether you’re a researcher, funder, publisher, policymaker, or community representative, the Responsible Research in Action Unconference offers a unique chance to step out of your silo, join forces, and help shape a more trustworthy, transparent, and impactful research system.

Beyond producing concrete outputs, participants can expect to walk away with a new international network of peers committed to driving change across the research ecosystem. Refined skills in design thinking and how to drive behavior change, honed through dedicated workshops held during the event.

This event is hosted by the QUEST Center for Responsible Research at the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at the Charité in Berlin, the Einstein Foundation Award for Promoting Quality in Research, and the EXCELScIOR ERA Chair at the University of Coimbra — with funding kindly provided by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Berlin University Alliance (BUA).