ERIH and Art History - a joint resolution of RIHA

RIHA, the International Association of Research Institutes in the
History of Art (www.riha-institutes.org), sharply criticizes the
clandestine way in which the European Science Foundation (ESF) has
developed and monitored the European Reference Index for the Humanities
(ERIH) since 2001, and is extremely concerned about its present and
future application.

See:
http://www.esf.org/research-areas/humanities/erih-european-reference-index-for-the-humanities/erih-initial-lists.html

Following discussions at the General Assemblies in Rome (Nov. 6-8, 2008)
and Ljubljana (Nov. 6-7, 2009), RIHA has adopted the following
resolution on November 7, 2009:

1. The qualities of scholarly work in the humanities cannot be assessed
in simple numbers or metrics; principles which were developed in the
context of the natural sciences cannot be transferred to or employed in
the humanities, since these work differently, in particular with regard
to the relevance of research for different audiences or readerships, and
its impact on these constituencies.

2. RIHA strongly opposes the idea that, in the field of art history, the
place of a publication (in a journal that has been assigned to category
A, B, or C) is indicative of the quality of the individual article or
contribution.

3. The categorization of journals does not reflect the needs of
scholars. RIHA will not deliver data to ERIH or to any similar
quantitative indices of research quality that can be used for assessing
the quality of individual scholars, departments, or institutions.

4. RIHA strongly opposes the idea that a specific number of articles in
any journal can serve as a means to establish the scholarly potential of
a candidate for career promotion (as practised, e.g., in Poland).

5. RIHA strongly deplores the current practice of linking directly the
funding of a research institute to the number of articles published by
the staff of that institute. RIHA considers this practice to be
meaningless with regard to the quality and impact of an institute's
daily work.

6. All RIHA member institutes hereby declare that they will never use
ERIH data for assessing the quality of applications for grants and
fellowships, research projects, or for temporary or permanent positions
as staff members. Rather, they will rely on specific criteria
appropriate to the individual case.

7. RIHA strongly urges all European art historical institutions
(museums, galleries, universities, cultural heritage organizations etc.)
not to use ERIH, and to lobby their respective ministries to ensure that
ERIH is not employed at local, regional, federal, or national level.