In the case of research centres, assessment is a fundamental practice for research institutes and common in the most advanced and prestigious systems worldwide. International standards in this field are well defined and assessments are usually carried out by a panel of renowned independent experts.
Following the decision by the Parliament of Catalonia and, subsequently, by the Government of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the CERCA Institute now coordinates regular assessments in CERCA research centres with the aim of analysing the fulfilment of their missions.
The first assessment (2012-2013) generated over 500 high value-added recommendations that were implemented in subsequent years.
In 2019, the second assessment (2016-2019) was concluded, which also assessed how far recommendations had been implemented. In addition to the executive report prepared by each assessment committee, second CERCA assessment also included a rating (A, B, C, D) of each centre’s performance. The aim was to encourage research activities directly related to the founding objectives of the centres and the actions necessary for their promotion. As a result of this incentive programme, seven centres received extra funding through the IN-CERCA call for applications.
