RESEARCH QUALITY AND POLICY IMPACT

Quality in research is a highly prioritized, but also a much debated issue in research policy. The Centre for Research Quality and Policy Impact Studies (R-QUEST) constitutes an 8-year commitment to explore the nature and mechanisms of research quality – funded by the RCN FORINNPOL initiative. The centre will address three closely related questions:

What is research quality? How are notions of research quality negotiated, established and practiced, and what are the mechanisms through which these notions affect policy?

What are the drivers of high quality research, and what is the role of policy in developing outstanding research?

What are the effects of high quality research on the society?

We will explore these questions through three interrelated research strands:

1. Understanding research quality
2. Conditions for high research quality
2a. Country level studies
2b. Research groups and research organisations
3. Effects on society

A central aim of the centre is to understand research assessments, standards and practices in different fields of research. More generally, we aim to help policy makers in their efforts to develop the best framework conditions for high quality research.