The evaluation of the research function of Argentine universities through the Institutional Evaluation Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MinCyT)

Abstract

More than 15 years after the Institutional Evaluation Program (PEI) was implemented under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation (MinCyT), there is still no academic research that analyzes its design, implementation and/or impact. This article proposes, from a theoretical-methodological perspective of a descriptive-evaluative nature, the following objectives: (1) to describe the origins of the program and the model proposed by the PEI; (2) to account for the evolution of institutional adhesion; (3) to analyze the motivations and purposes of evaluation, explaining why and for what purpose these processes are carried out in the institutions; and (4) to reflect on the underlying purpose of the PEI and its correspondence with institutional motivations