Preparing for the evaluation of a research unit

On the research unit’s part

To enable the expert committee to evaluate all the aspects of the activities conducted by the research units of the institutions and research organisations in question, using the documents provided and through an on-site visit, the evaluations must take account of each team’s plan and results as well as the unit’s overall plan and results.

This is because the point is to provide the various stakeholders concerned with objective information for assessing the quality of research units’ activity. The State and institutions concerned remain fully competent for recognition decisions and the allocation of human resources and funding.

This therefore involves:

• for a unit under renewal, examining the activity results over the last four years and the plan and identifying strengths and areas for improvement overall and for each team
• for a new unit or one being reorganised, examining the plan and analysing the outlook study as well as the objectives and strategy defined for the next four years, overall and for each team. In the event of several units being reorganised, the results of the teams making up the new unit will also be studied.

On the AERES’ part

The expert committee comprises, on the one hand, at least six experts, including a chairman, and on the other hand, a representative of the staff evaluation body of each institution to which the evaluated unit is attached, as proposed by this body (e.g. National Committee of Scientific Research/CoNRS, French Universities Board/CNU or specialized scientific committees of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research/Inserm). The list of experts is published. For small units, the committee size is reduced.

These experts may be researchers, professors, engineers or technicians from the world of academic research or industry, in France or abroad. The list of prospective experts is sent beforehand to the institutions in question, who make any comments they may have concerning possible conflicts of interest.

The chairmen or research organisation directors or their representatives attend meetings with the unit director or with the teams and may be called on by the expert committee chairman to provide contextual information or clarifications on the strategy of research organisations.

The expert committee is accompanied for the visit by a scientific delegate representing the AERES who checks that the evaluation is properly conducted in accordance with the procedures. The AERES representative is not a member of the expert committee.