We (Italians) do not have any Research Assessment Exercise yet, although this is being considered and it’s at a rather embryonic stage. One Italian institute, rather incredibly, at least to us Belpaesinos, has decided to put itself voluntarily under such an assessment exercise, asking an international commission to evaluate its output.
I am talking about the Italian Institute for Astrophysics. Translating from here:
…in the past few months, 35 reviewers selected from 22 presigious international institutes, ranging from Harvard to the Max Planck Institut…have visited the 19 Italian labs belonging INAF and distributed across the country, stopping by each site for several days…
The scientific output of INAF, apparently, was very satisfactory, but the big news is that someone in Italy is openly exposing himself to scientific evaluation. In a country where you don’t necessarily get funded as a function of the quality of the research that you are proposing and that you conducted before, this is a huge result. INAF’s evaluation is on the web, in English.
Stellar job, Italian Astrophysicists!
Our university organises these assessments too. When they did one a few years ago, the department I was in then insisted that its three divisions should be evaluated separately. Our division was rated at the top, the largest division (and the one with the most power) was at the bottom, and the Swedish speaking division was a curate’s egg (i.e. good in parts, but the rest…).
Much as these exercises are hated by the staff, I agree with you that they can be valuable – the problem with the RAE is that so much funding depends on it.
I do remember the site visit from the Cancer Research UK, at the lab where I did my Ph.D. The lab virtually stopped for many weeks in preparation for the visit. That was not ideal.
These exercises may be hated by many, as you indicate, but at least they exist as an official evaluation. We (in Italy) just don’t have that.