Shaping the future of research evaluation in Japan
Research evaluation protocols are highly devolved in Japan: while there are National Guidelines for Evaluating R&D issued by the Cabinet Office's Council for Science, Technology and Innovation, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and other ministries have also developed their own guidelines. In addition, universities and research institutes have their own research evaluation systems in place for research and researchers, which – like in many parts of the world – have become linked to institutional performance and budgetary allocation.
There have been growing concerns about overreliance on quantitative evaluation. In response, the Science Council of Japan has prepared a recommendation on the future of research evaluation in Japan (2022) calling for less emphasis on quantitative and more on qualitative measures, more recognition of research diversity and responsibility in research evaluation and the monitoring of international trends in the reform of research evaluation practices. Ultimately, research interests and promotion should be at the heart of research evaluation, and every effort made to prevent fatigue, demotivation and excessive pressure on researchers.
Reproduced from Future of Research Evaluation: A Synthesis of Current Debates and Developments, published by the Global Young Academy (GYA), the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) and the International Science Council (ISC) Centre for Science Futures Scoping Group.