ROMA (ITALPRESS) – Transparency, programming and international opening. These are the principles behind the new guidelines for the management of public research notices and the evaluation of proposals, presented today at the Ministry of University and Research by Minister Anna Maria Bernini, along with the Senator Elena Cattaneo and Matteo Bassetti, Chairman of the Group of Experts on Research Financing Procedures.
The work was born with the aim of making more homogeneous, clear and transparent the procedures for financing and evaluation of Italian research. “We are proud to present a method, we have found great excellence but also unevenness,” Bernini explained. “Researchers need rigour, certainty and transparency,” added the ministra, stressing the importance of greater band programming. Among the objectives of the new guidelines there is also a greater internationalization of evaluation processes. “Dedicated and internationalized assessment criteria”, Bernini stressed, talking about the need to make the Italian evaluation “more aggregable to foreign research projects”. “Having more homogeneous research lines makes us more appealing and more able to communicate with everyone,” he added.
The new approach is part of the Triennial Research Plan 2026-2028, which includes investments for approximately 1.2 billion euros per year. In 2026 new instruments and financing programmes are also planned, including PRIN HYBRID and Synergy Grant, for a total value of €364 million for 239 projects. Particular attention is paid to the evaluation of the proposals. Among the indications is a greater international openness of the processes, with the involvement of scientists belonging to foreign institutions and Italian researchers working outside the country. Central remains the peer review system, with the aim of strengthening the quality and reliability of project evaluation.
The guidelines also provide for the valorisation, alongside scientific publications, of other forms of production and transfer of knowledge. A chapter also covers the use of artificial intelligence in application procedures, for which clear rules are indicated and the need to keep the researcher responsible for the content presented. Another element concerns the strengthening of the autonomy of young researchers, through tools capable of fostering mobility and independent research paths. Bernini also spoke on the theme of youth and international mobility. “The phenomenon of brains on the run is not pathological when it is a choice and not an obligation,” said the ministra.
“We put everyone in condition, through a scholarship, to be able to experience abroad.” Bernini recalled that “from 2022 we have invested 11 billion in centres of excellence” and that now “we must give the opportunity to young people to return”. According to the ministra, moreover, “there are more young people who return than those who leave, the trend has reversed”. The Ministry also provided for greater certainty in the publication of information relating to bands and rankings. “Every 30 April will be published the years and on 30 September, already from this year, we have made the rankings,” explained Bernini, defining that on the new guidelines “a teamwork” that “is still present elements of improvement”.
For Bassetti, “the direction is that of greater internationalization and meritocracy of all that is Italian scientific research”. The Chairman of the Expert Group spoke of the need to “modernize the evaluation of research”, stressing that “scientific research is fundamental for the growth of a country”. The objective, he added, is to go towards “more transparency and greater quality of evaluation”.
Cattaneo also stressed the importance of the document. “The document defines the architecture of how the ideas of the many Italian researchers must be evaluated,” he explained. “Importing these guidelines, you will now have to implement them.” For the senator to life “Italian research is hard sailing”, but “having guidelines that increase trust towards institutions is already an important step”. Cattaneo also defined “important” for researchers the programming of bands initiated by the ministry.
The new guidelines aim to make the Italian research system more transparent, meritocratic, programmable and open to international comparison, with the aim of guaranteeing researchers more homogeneous procedures and greater certainty in access to funding.
– Photo Ipa Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
