Research evaluation policies: analysis of the impact on researchers' research agenda setting

The implementation of research evaluation policies, linked to a general trend of rethinking process of higher education in many Western countries, has stimulated a reflection among scholars on both short and long term effects. The aim of this paper is to provide a thorough literature review on research evaluation policies impact on knowledge productivity, notably focusing on the impact on research agenda setting related processes, thus enabling a discussion on research productivity factors and the consequences of a performance-based funding system on academics’ choices. The impact of research evaluation policies on the role played by traditional academic actors (such as higher education elites, national government, and academics), and the emergence of new actors (evaluative actors and institutions), will also be explored. Hence, the overview provided suggests a skeptical opinion by scholars, because of both the means and the purposes of research evaluation process. Still, the concept of researchers’ autonomy, deemed as fundamental for high quality research, is perceived somewhat compromised by the evaluative measures.