KISTEP held the 134th KISTEP Wednesday Forum  on May 12th (Wednesday) to discuss the current status and strategies to develop the institutional evaluation system. This Wednesday forum was broadcast live online without external participants due to Covid-19, and can be viewed again through the KISTEP YouTube channel.

(Link) https://youtu.be/55mqcx1sq_0

Sang-sun Kim, president of KISTEP, said in an opening speech, "It is time for us to discuss whether there is any fundamental challenge in the mid- to long-term in parallel with finding solutions to various issues raised at the site of the institutional evaluation system."

▲ Sang-sun Kim(president of KISTEP), explaining the significance of the forum

▲ Joonmo Ahn(professor at Korea University), addressing his point of view

Ahn Joon-mo, a professor of public administration at Korea University, presented issues on improving the institutional evaluation system and introduced various overseas cases (Max Planck Research Association in Germany, the U.S. Energy Department's evaluation of research institutes, and the British Biotechnology Research Association). The announcement ended with a proposal for institutional evaluation policies to redefine the institutional evaluation and suggested a new system for more desirable evaluation.

The panel discussion was led by Se-hoon Oh(director at KISTEP) and filled with vigorous discussion on how institutional evaluation may change with Sang-wook Park(professor at Seoul National University), Keun-joo Lee(professor at Ewha Womans University), Jeonghwan Lee(president of the Korea Institute of Materials), Sung-do Ha(vice president of the Institute of Basic Science), and Hyung-deuk Hong(professor at Kangwon National University).

▲ Sang-wook Park, professor at Seoul National University

The features and challenges of the government-funded institutional evaluation system were discussed. "The current system has progressed according to the characteristics of institutions, yet the evaluation system itself has become less effective," he said, arguing that the institutional evaluation system needs to be a leverage to help the institution improve.

▲ Keun-joo Lee, professor at Ewha Womans University

The implications of the foreign institutional evaluation system were discussed, mainly focusing on institutional evaluation cases in the United States (GPRA) and Germany (Max Planck).

▲ Jeonghwan Lee, president of the Korea Institute of Materials

From the perspective of the subjects, problems and improvement options of the current system were discussed.

▲ Sung-do Ha, vice president of the Institute of Basic Science

The Institute of Basic Science’s fair and vigorous evaluation system was introduced.

▲ Hyung-deuk Hong, professor at Kangwon National University

It was emphasized that evaluation system for research institutes should be comprehensive in order to help them navigate their paths.

KISTEP will distribute the Wednesday Forum Brief, which contains the forum's main contents and policy implications, to policy customers.

(KISTEP Wednesday Forum Brief) kch@kistep.re.kr

(KISTEP YouTube Channel) https://www.youtube.com/KISTEPTV