'We express our deep concern about the changes introduced on February 9 and 18, 2021, by the Ministry of Education and Science, without consultation with the Commission for the Evaluation of Science, to the list of scientific journals and peer-reviewed materials from international conferences. The announced update of the list of journals raises justified doubts in the academic community.'

The published revised list takes into account journals that do not appear in the international databases of top scientific journals and were not covered by the Support for Scientific Journals programme. In light of the definition of scientific achievement, contained in art. 265 ust. - Prawo o szkolnictwie wyższym i nauce, scientific articles published in journals not meeting these criteria should not be included in the current process of evaluation of scientific activity with the scores assigned to them in the new list. Furthermore, art. 267 ust. 2 pkt 2 states that the list of journals and the method of determining and assigning points to them shall be drawn up taking into account the reputation of the journals and conference proceedings - this condition has not been met either. Therefore, there are grounds for concluding that the amended list of journals may be inconsistent with the applicable legal provisions, and the evaluation of the quality of scientific activities carried out on the basis of the list may raise reservations as to its compliance with the provisions of the Act.

The changes introduced concern mainly the humanities and social sciences. Increasing the number of points for journals published in Poland, which is not supported by an appropriate assessment methodology, does not serve the quality of Polish science, including the Polish humanities. It is a measure that, in the long term - contrary to the expectations of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education - will result in the marginalisation of the achievements of Polish scientists and will contribute to a decline in the quality of research.

Taking into account the fact that the results of the evaluation of disciplines determine key decisions concerning the funding of scientific centres as well as authorisations to conduct education and confer degrees, the new list of journals means the elimination of the criterion of scientific quality and leads to international marginalisation and isolation of Polish science. It should also be stressed that the way in which the decision to change the list of journals was made shows disregard for the standards of scientific quality developed in the scientific community and leads to a loss of confidence in the state's scientific policy.

The quality criterion was the basis of the implemented higher education reform. The evaluation of scientific activity was to be more objective, predictable and motivating to build the international position of Polish science, including humanities. Recent decisions of MEiN concerning the list of journals undermine these important assumptions of the higher education reform.

The model of evaluation of the scientific activity of an institution of science on the basis of the scientific output of researchers contained in journals registered in international databases does not mean that it is necessary to resign from publishing in Polish. International databases of scientific journals also include journals published in national languages, including Polish.

In order to build the international position of Polish science, it is crucial to strive for the widest possible presence of Polish scientists in publications appearing in journals indexed in international databases.

Only then will Polish universities have a chance to rise in international rankings, and Polish researchers will have a chance to win international grants. Such a qualitative and integrative model of development of Polish science is ambitious, requires financial outlays and a long-term and stable scientific policy. It is also consistent with a well-understood national interest.

It is a fact that a significant part of the results of scientific work in some disciplines of science is published in Polish journals outside international databases, due to, i. a., the local character of the subject matter of this research or the need to disseminate the results among groups of stakeholders. The forthcoming evaluation of scientific entities provides the third criterion for taking into account the impact of scientific activity on the functioning of society and the economy. Evaluation in this respect is to consist of expert assessment of the so-called impact descriptions. Preliminary analyses of the feasibility of such evaluations indicate some difficulties in ensuring comparability of expert judgements. In this context, we propose the creation of an additional list of Polish journals of exceptional importance for the development of the economy, social life and culture. Publications in these journals, including those absent from international databases, could be used in the evaluation process to objectively assess the impact of scientific research on the functioning of society and the economy. Such a solution will make it possible to further improve national journals and, at the same time, create opportunities for the scientific community to develop cultural, scientific-technical and social activities, disseminating and popularising scientific achievements and technological progress.

On the other hand, we believe that a basic list of journals registered in international publication databases, proposed in accordance with the provisions of the act by the Commission for the Evaluation of Science, and subject to possible modifications in accordance with recognised criteria and at the request of this Commission, should be used for the evaluation of research achievements obtained in a scientific unit within the first evaluation criterion. All other publications should be moved to a separate list, supporting the third evaluation criterion.

Possible changes to the list by increasing the scoring of journals should be carried out on the basis of a previously approved methodology. Such adjustments could be applied only before the next evaluation of the quality of the scientific activity, and new procedures should be established by the end of 2021 at the latest. In KRASP's opinion, the development of an additional list of journals supporting the assessment of the impact of research activity on the environment should also be entrusted to the Commission for the Evaluation of Science, which is statutorily empowered to conduct the evaluation process.

Chairman of KRASP

prof. dr hab. inż. Arkadiusz Mężyk