Assessing Europe's university-based research : expert group on assessment of university-based research
In 2008, the European Commission, DG Research set up the Expert Group on Assessment of University-Based Research to identify the framework for a new and more coherent methodology to assess the research produced by European universities. There is no single, correct methodology. Any assessment of the quality of university-based research will have to take into consideration the multi-functional and diverse nature of universities, the diverse nature of disciplines, the level at which universities are assessed (i.e., identify the level at which knowledge is created and shared), the users' needs and assume an inclusive notion of research ranging from blue sky/curiosity-driven to user-led/practice-based research and interdisciplinary research. The key issue here is to design evaluations that are fit for purpose. While commercial rankings have positive and negative impacts onto the institutions, the students and other users, they tend to focus on only the world's top 100 out of the estimated 17,000 higher education institutions. Hence, there is a need to design flexible and multidimensional methodologies that will adapt to the diverse and complex nature of research, disciplines and of our universities
eBook, English, 2010
Publications Office, Luxembourg, 2010