Next-Generation Research Program Assessment

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will link the U.S. research assessment community to world discussions of the problems and prospects of new ways of viewing the management of research. The indicator systems that are currently in use for research programs around the world will not yield much useful information in the end, because they are too closely tied to current management information systems and therefore to input, process, and output measures. The next generation of assessments must get a better handle on outcomes in order to meet the demands of legislatures for broader public accountability. This project will bring together those who are beginning to develop a new generation of measures and approaches. The project will first work on identifying world resources in this area and make that information available on a Web site. The centerpiece of the project is a three-day retreat, envisioned for spring 2001, that will involve the key crafters of new approaches to research assessment, from both the U.S. and other countries. Leading up to the workshop, the project will re-establish network connections among researchers and agency assessment staff in the United States, through a series of network meetings in Washington. The main products will be a research agenda for the area; a U.S.-based network, with international connections, bringing together academic researchers from different fields with agency staff; and elements of training for a new generation of assessment professionals.