NWO institutes undergo mid-term evaluation
A recent mid-term internal evaluation has revealed that NWO institutes are maintaining their positions of excellence and are working in an increasingly international context. This is reflected in the increasingly international ambitions of the NWO institutes. However, these ambitions might be jeopardised by the budgets that still operate on a national scale.
NWO has nine research institutes. They develop and exploit national research facilities, coordinate research at a national scale, form a home-base for research in an international context (at international research facilities) and from within that position facilitate Dutch participation in (future) international research infrastructures or international partnerships. This further strengthens the scientific research that takes place in the Netherlands.
Once every six years, NWO commissions an evaluation of its institutes by international experts. These external evaluations take place in accordance with the Standard Evaluation Protocol written by KNAW, NWO and VSNU. Additionally a mid-term internal evaluation takes place which is assessed by NWO’s Governing Board. In 2008, seven institutes – ASTRON, CWI, ING, NIOZ, NSCR, FOM-Rijnhuizen and SRON – carried out a mid-term evaluation. NIKHEF and AMOLF recently underwent an external evaluation and therefore did not participate in this mid-term round.
Based on the mid-term evaluations, NWO’s Governing Board has noted with satisfaction that the recommendations from the international evaluations of 2005 have been clearly acted upon. For example, where applicable, strategic adjustments to the policy and organisation of the institutes have been implemented. As a result of this the institute boards have received more of a supervisory role and a Scientific Advisory Board has been or shall be appointed at each institute. Where necessary the institutes have sharpened their mission, increased the emphasis on thematic and multidisciplinary research and have set up new lines of research.
The institutes are performing superbly and are on course for realising their strategies for the current planning period. The Governing Board envisages that with the internationalisation of the large facilities, the necessary investments shall increasingly be beyond the resources of an institute and NWO. Therefore, together with its institutes NWO wants to develop a powerful policy in the direction of a national strategy.
In advance of the revised Standard Evaluation Protocol (SEP 2009-2015) the NWO institutes have gained experience with benchmarking and with positioning themselves at a national and international level during their self evaluations. Furthermore, in view of the import national facilitatory role each institute has in its own discipline, the evaluations also focussed on (improving) the visibility of the scientific use of national research facilities by university researchers.
In 2011, all NWO institutes shall undergo an external evaluation.
