Stellenbosch prof is lone African voice on transparency body

Johann Mouton, a South African researcher based at Stellenbosch University, has been selected as a founding board member of a global body that aims to boost research transparency and impact assessment.

Publishing giant Elsevier’s International Center for the Study of Research aims “to initiate coherence across these discussions and provide a progressive momentum and a critical examination of evaluation approaches and metrics which hold value for both researchers, and the public more broadly,” said Eric Archambault, head of the ICSR, in a statement.

The 16 board members represent all continents. However, Mouton, who heads Stellenbosch’s Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology, is the only Africa-based member. The board is dominated by the United States and Europe but includes representatives from Brazil, Japan and China.