Lecture by Prof. Diana Hicks (School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology)
| Date: | March 19, 2013 (Tue) 9:00-12:00 |
|---|---|
| Venue: | 92C2 Lounge, Eng. Bldg.2 |
Titles:
1) Powerful Numbers:
A reflection on influential analyses in the history of science policy and
the numbers decision makers use. This historical overview looks at evidence
for the influence of particular analyses produced by Edwin Mansfield,
Francis Narin, Linda Butler, Ben Martin & John Irvine and NSF.
2) A review of National University Research Evaluation and Funding Systems:
In recent decades governments have sought greater accountability from those
who receive public money. In this environment, universities have faced
changing funding regimes with the introduction of national systems of
funding conditional on evaluation of research output, or performance based
research funding systems. Universities in many countries now face periodic
measurement and comparison of their research output. They participate in a
single national system used to evaluate research across all types of
universities and all fields.
I will provide an overview of these performance-based funding systems for
public research in research intensive universities (such as the RAE in the
UK). This involves exploring the types of performance-based funding systems
in use, their rationale, goals and features. The design and administration
of the systems is also examined, specifically, the level of consultation and
negotiation that takes place with the tertiary institutions, and how the
funding systems interact with other facets of the funding environment.
Finally the paper explores the arguments that have emerged for and against
the different types of funding systems, and whether any consensus is
emerging as to a “state-of-the-art” system.