Research assessment

Research assessment

Every six years the quality of research institutes and research groups at Dutch research universities is systematically assessed. Universities organise the assessment themselves and appoint an independent international peer-review committee. Next to an overall assessment of an institute, the quality, productivity, viability and relevance of all research groups are evaluated. PhD programmes are also included in this process. In addition to the external evaluation, an internal evaluation of the institutes takes place every three years.
The present research quality assurance system has been in use since the 1990s. Up until 2003, the VSNU had been responsible for organising nation-wide evaluations on discipline level. Since 2003 the universities themselves have organised the research assessments based on the Standard Evaluation Protocol (SEP, see below). In this protocol, established by the VSNU, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), emphasis is placed on the international position of institutes and research groups. The protocol is periodically reviewed by an independent expert committee.

The Standard Evaluation Protocol

The SEP provides common guidelines for the evaluation and improvement of research and research policy, based on expert assessments. It has two main objectives:

1. to improve the research quality based on external peer review, including scientific and societal relevance of research, research policy and research management
2. to ensure accountability to the board of the research organisation, and towards funding agenies, government and society at large.

The assessment is based on four criteria, viz.
- quality (including international academic reputation and PhD training)
- productivity (the relationship between input and output)
- societal relevance (including valorisation)
- vitality and feasibility (the ability to react adequately to important changes in the environment).

The SEP 2009-2015 is available (in English) at the website of the KNAW.

The Code of Conduct for Scientific Practice

In 2004, the VSNU published its Code of Conduct for Scientific Practice, which outlines principles of good scientific teaching and research. The increasing importance of research in the fields of product development and policy has led to the steady rise of contract research projects within universities. In its Code of Conduct the VSNU describes good scientific practice in terms of scrupulousness, reliability, verifiability, impartiality, and independence. If the validity and status of academic research is to be guaranteed then it is important to adhere to these five established norms.

Documents

Code of Conduct for Scientific Practice