Tribune. A column on the High Council for Evaluation, Research and Higher Education (Hcéres) was signed in the columns of the World January 10, 2022 by several hundred directors of research units, which is not nothing. And it is enough to speak to the communities to see that this interpellation reflects widely shared questions.
All readers of World do not know exactly what Hcéres and its missions are, but why would they not believe in the idea that French research is bent under the pressure of bureaucrats drunk on indicators that waste researchers precious time? President of this institution, I take this opportunity to recall the missions of Hcéres, the way in which it assumes them, and to respond to the concerns generated within the academic community by the necessary changes initiated over the past year.
In France there are around 80 universities, 220 public or private schools of general interest, 20 research organisations, 2,500 research units, 290 doctoral schools, 2,370 master’s and 3,180 bachelor’s courses. These entities all operate very largely on public funds. The third state budget item finances universities, colleges and research organizations, and the ministry signs five-year contracts with them.
Do not only support excellence
These operators, largely autonomous, themselves define the terms by which they intend to fulfill their public service missions. In particular, they in turn distribute the means between the research units and the training courses they support. It is legitimate to think that the State and the operators benefit from allocating resources on the basis of an assessment of the quality of the activities carried out.
This does not mean that the means should only go to excellence: we can decide to reinforce the most advanced to gain a competitive advantage; we can decide to support those who are less so because their fragility is precisely due to a lack of means. The level responsible for political decision-making retains its prerogatives and responsibilities, but this decision can only be properly informed if an evaluation is carried out by a body which does not depend on it and which, in return, has no power decision maker.
This is why it was decided in 2006 that the evaluation of institutions, research units and training would be entrusted to an independent national agency, Aeres, which became Hcéres in 2013, because the State is accountable for use of public funds. Each institution is evaluated only once every five years.
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