Research evaluation of the Italian CNR institutes: A missed opportunity?

The paper deals with the institutional evaluation of the research infrastructure of the Italian National Research Council (CNR). The evaluation was commissioned by the organisation itself and was carried out by a panel of experts. The paper analyses the procedure adopted and the results obtained with the aim of evaluating to what extent the exercise was appropriately designed and performed, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the methodology adopted, suggesting relevant methodological changes, evaluating the impact of the evaluation within and outside the agency. The exercise is compared with similar evaluations carried out by other European agencies. From a science policy viewpoint it is argued that the evaluation of the CNR institutes is a missed opportunity if its outcome is not used for policy making - and after nine months from the release of the evaluation report it has not been so used.