Turning academics into researchers: The development of National Researcher Categorization Systems in Latin America

FEDERICO VASEN; NERINA F. SARTHOU; SILVINA A. ROMANO; BRENDA DORIS DEL VALLE GUTIERREZ; MANUEL PINTOS

RESEARCH EVALUATION

Oxford University Press

Lugar: Oxford; Año: 2023 vol. 32 p. 244 - 244

0958-2029

valuation procedures play a crucial role in science and technology systems, particularly within academic career structures. This article focuses on an approach to evaluation that has gained prominence in Latin America over the past four decades. This scheme assesses the individual performance of academics based on their academic activities and outputs and assigns them a ‘researcher category’, which carries prestige and, in many cases, additional monthly rewards. Initially implemented in higher education contexts with limited research focus, these systems aimed to bolster knowledge production by involving more academics in research. In this study, we define National Researcher Categorization Systems (NRCSs) and distinguish them from other evaluation systems. Subsequently, we present a comparative analysis of NRCSs in seven countries, identifying common trends. Additionally, we discuss categorization systems within the broader context of strategies employed to incentivize academic resea