National framework for the quality assurance of research
The guiding framework for Dutch academic research assessments is the Strategy Evaluation Protocol 2021 – 2027 (SEP). This protocol has been developed and is adhered to by the three major public national academic bodies VSNU (Universities), NWO (Funder) and KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences).
The main goals of the SEP are to inform the Board of the University about the state of its research (internal accountability), to improve it where needed (benchmarking) and to inform both public and private sponsors, including the government, other stakeholders and society at large (external accountability).
It obliges all Universities to organize external evaluations once every six years. These should be based on informed peer review by independent international experts that assess research units with a clearly defined shared strategy on three main criteria:
- Quality
- Societal relevance
- Viability.
The judgement of the Peer Review Committee (PRC) on each criterion is a qualitative one, no longer supplemented with a quantitative score. It takes into consideration the results and reflections of the research unit on how it organizes as well as performs its research with special reference to four specific aspects:
- Open Science
- PhD Policy and Training
- Academic Culture
- Human Resources Policy
These aspects are integral parts of the assessment criteria and are dealt with accordingly in the PRC's evaluation.
The PRC reports will be made public here, together with a summary of the self-evaluation (including case studies highlighting major academic and societal results), as well as a position document of the Board (a reflection on the PRC’s major findings and recommendations plus summary of how these will be followed up).
| Last modified: | 14 November 2023 11.22 a.m. |