R&D evaluation in Italy: a science and technology policy view

The situation in Italy with regard to evaluation is unsatisfactory: the limited experience in carrying out evaluation, the inherent risks of its improper use, and the difficulty of reporting results in the presence of unclear objectives represent the major obstacles. However, progress on the adoption of evaluation procedures has come in recent years. In this paper the major evaluation studies are reviewed in the context of Italian science and technology policy. It is argued that the limited diffusion of evaluation in Italy is linked to cultural, organisational and institutional factors. The increasing demand by the public for accountability, and the growing internationalisation of R&D, accelerated by European integration, is expected to contribute to the spreading of evaluation processes in the country. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.