Archives

  • Cover fteval Journal for Research and Technology Policy Evaluation #58

    Issue #58 - Governing with Evidence. Councils, Advisory Systems, and Evaluation
    No. 58 (2026)

    This issue sets out to explore how two distinct orientations towards evidence – the prospective, advisory perspective that councils bring and the retrospective lens of the evaluation community – can complement and inform each other, and how the institutions that embody them might usefully reimagine their roles and relationship. The call for papers reflected this ambition, and the contributions gathered here take it seriously.

    This special issue focuses on the evolving working methods of advisory councils and the role of evaluation in shaping science and innovation policy. We seek to explore how advisory councils and evaluation interact, their respective strengths and limitations, and how their integration can lead to  more robust, evidence-based policymaking. By examining both conceptual foundations and international case studies, we aim to contribute to a deeper understanding of how different national
    systems organise and implement research policy advice and evaluation. 

  • Issue #57 - Proceedings of the REvaluation Conference 2024
    No. 57 (2025)

    Evaluation is a field that rarely takes things at face value, which makes it even more important to meet face-to-face from time to time to exchange perspectives, clarify assumptions, and critically reflect together. The REvaluation Conference 2024, held in Vienna from December 4-6, offered such a moment. Against the backdrop of a shifting research and innovation policy landscape, the conference brought together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to collectively explore what it means to evaluate in times of transformation. With its mix of conceptual reflection, methodological debate, and practical insight, the conference made one thing clear: evaluation is not merely reacting to change, it is becoming part of the change.

    This issue of the fteval Journal for Research and Technology Policy Evaluation contains the proceedings of the REvaluation Conference 2024 and documents the outcomes of the discussions and exchanges that shaped the event. Structured around four thematic clusters, this issue reflects the strands of discussion that defined the REvaluation 2024 programme. The conference’s agenda – from transformation‑oriented policies to novel digital tools – is mirrored here and further developed through the selected contributions. Each block connects directly to sessions and debates held in Vienna, offering both, summaries and fresh perspectives.

  • Issue #56 - Sonderheft Forschung an Fachhochschulen in Österreich anlässlich deren 30-Jahre Jubiläums
    No. 56 (2024)

    Nine articles from science and practice that reflect on the research achievements of Austrian universities of applied sciences to date and their future prospects. With infographics and a magazine section.

  • Cover fteval Journal for Research and Technology Policy Evaluation #55

    Issue #55 - Thematically open
    No. 55 (2024)

    This issue brings together a wide variety of eight thought-provoking articles. We open this issue with a contribution that addresses the evolving demands placed on evaluation in the context of grand societal challenges. The following two articles turn to gender equality as a central dimension of evaluation quality—highlighting both strategic blind spots and opportunities for more inclusive practices. The next three articles are the result of dedicated working groups initiated by the fteval Platform, addressing two pressing themes in current evaluation discourse: artificial intelligence and indicators for sustainability. They reflect collective efforts to better understand and shape the role of evaluation in times of technological disruption and transformative societal change. Fittingly, the final article in this issue returns to the topic of artificial intelligence—this time from a comparative governance perspective. By examining how Austria and Australia approach the regulation and strategic use of AI, it offers a broader view on how states navigate the balance between innovation, ethics, and control in the face of rapid technological change.

  • Issue #54 – Participatory Evaluation and Impact Assessment in Citizen Science
    No. 54 (2022)

    In this issue of FTeval Journal, we approach the topic of evaluation in Citizen Science from a particular angle, inquiring about the possibilities and conditions for making evaluation more participatory than it has been to date. While Citizen Science is by definition highly participatory, this claim often does not extend to its evaluation and impact assessment practices. In this special issue, authors explore a few of the manifold potential entanglements of participation and impact assessment. They deal e.g. with the question which formats of participation can be useful for the evaluation of Citizen Science, and to which extent. Contributions range from theoretical discussions to praxis reports and detail existing approaches to participatory evaluation that involve participants of Citizen Science activities in reflecting and assessing projects’ or initiatives’ processes and outcomes.

  • Issue #53 – Proceedings of the REvaluation Conference 2021|22
    No. 53 (2022)

    Proceedings of the REvaluation 2021|22 Conference.

  • Issue #52 – Practice Edition
    No. 52 (2021)

    This issue of the fteval Journal for Research and Technology Policy Evaluation, which is thematically open and essentially emphasises inputs from practice. Several contributions reflect the work of the authors "in the field" and share the experiences gained. We have for instance a contribution that presents lessons learned in the evaluation of a transition-oriented funding framework programme, while another contribution reflects on the impact of Austria’s Research Financing Act on evaluation.

    A special feature of this issue are three articles dealing with the social impact of RTI policy measures. They are the results of working groups initiated by fteval, which in recent months have intensively discussed and elaborated potential impact paths in three thematic areas: the impact of R&I and R&I policy on (i) social innovations, (ii) on sustainable economic activity and (iii) on the relationship between science and society. Consideration was also given to how these areas impact back on R&I policy.

  • Issue #51 - Europe
    No. 51 (2020)

    The present issue of the fteval Journal on Research and Technology Policy Evaluation is a thematic one: The theme of this issue is Europe. The topic is a perennial one, but of particular importance in times of Brexit and travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this issue we want to highlight the European dimension of RTI policy evaluation and share findings and lessons learned.

    Contributions range from exercises conducted in single European countries, via evaluations on European programmes, to general reflections on concepts and standards, which are widely applied across the EU or have an intrinsic European dimension.

  • Issue #50 - open-topic anniversary issue
    No. 50 (2020)

    With this issue we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the fteval Journal for Research and Technology Policy Evaluation.

  • Issue #49– University Evaluation
    No. 49 (2019)

    Sie halten ein Sonderheft des Journal for Research and Technology Policy Evaluation der fteval in Händen, welches sich ausschließlich mit der institutionellen Evaluierung von Hochschulen beschäftigt. Das Heft umfasst sowohl Beiträge aus der Sicht der AQ Austria, die im angesprochenen Evaluierungskontext eine zentrale Rolle spielt, als auch Beiträge von Betroffenen aus den verschiedenen Sektoren des österreichischen Hochschulwesens, die ihre spezifischen Sichtweisen und Erfahrungen einbringen, worüber wir uns sehr freuen. Am Ende der Ausgabe werfen ausgewiesene Expertinnen und Experten noch ein grundsätzlicherer Blick auf die Evaluierung von Hochschulen im generellen und auf die Grenzen des peer review Systems im spezifischen

  • Issue #48– Proceedings of the Conference “Impact of Social Sciences and Humanities for a European research Agenda Valuation of SSH in mission-oriented research! Vienna 2018
    No. 48 (2019)

    The conference proceedings are the result of the conference “Impact of Social Sciences and Humanities for a European Research Agenda” during the Austrian Presidency of the European Council in the second half of 2018. The conference was part of the Austrian presidency’s activities in the field of Research & Innovation policy and served as a forum for policy makers and researchers to discuss matters of social sciences and humanities (SSH) research in the context of the evolving European research framework programme Horizon Europe.


    The papers in these proceedings reflect the rich and broad debate at the conference. They give a most valuable overview about issues of the integration of social sciences and humanities in research programmes and about the impact of SSH. 

  • Issue #47- – Impact of R&I Policy
    No. 47 (2019)

    Most impact evaluations of R&I policy interventions focus either on scientific-technical effects or on economic effects. For this purpose, suitable indicators, data bases and methods have been created and continuously developed in recent decades. However, the comprehensibility and assessment of social and societal effects of R&I policy interventions has only recently gained new attention. One reason for this is the orientation of R&I policy towards major societal challenges (‘new mission-oriented R&I policy’1). The European Commission’s “Horizon Europe”, the 9th European Research and Innovation
    Framework Program, explicitly provides within the second pillar of the next Framework Program specific R&D missions still to be selected. For these missions as well as for the global challenges postulated in Horizon Europe - as in Horizon 2020 - the social impact dimension is highly relevant as it explicitly addresses the goals set by society (for example, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals / SDGs2). In order to better track and measure the impact dimensions of Horizon Europe, an
    expert report was presented immediately after the publication of the European Commission’s proposal for Horizon Europe in July 2018, which distinguishes between the following three impact dimensions: (1) scientific impact, (2) societal impact and (3) economic impact. Already the year before, an ERAC ad-hoc working group submitted a report that also argues for different dimensions of impact, but focuses on measuring the impact of European framework programs at national level.

  • Issue #46
    No. 46 (2018)

    Sie halten ein sehr umfangreiches Exemplar des fteval Journal for Research and Technology Policy Evaluation in den Händen, wofür ich in erster Line den zahlreichen Autorinnen und Autoren sehr dankbar bin. Das Heft enthält Informationen zu 12 Evaluierungen, die in der letzten Zeit in Österreich bzw. in Europa im Forschungs-, Technologie-und Innovationsbereich (FTI-Bereich), durchgeführt von österreichischen Einrichtungen sowie deren internationalen Partnern, stattgefunden
    haben. 

  • Issue #45
    No. 45 (2018)

    Das aktuelle Heft legt den Fokus auf Forschung und Hochschulen und beschäftigt sich mit folgenden Themen:
    • Die Wirkung der deutschen Exzellenzinitiative bzw. des Pakts für Forschung und Innovation auf die Entwicklung der Drittmitteleinwerbung und auf häufig zitierten Publikationsoutput, differenziert nach dem Hochschulsektor und dem außeruniversitären Forschungssektor in Deutschland, die vergleichend gegenübergestellt werden. 
    • Die Entwicklung der wissenschaftlichen Kopublikationen zwischen der österreichischen Wissenschaft und der Wirtschaft in Österreich und der EU zwischen 2009 und 2014, differenziert nach Themenbereichen, den wichtigsten Akteuren und den wichtigsten „Kopublikationspaarbeziehungen“.
    • Die Grundlagen für die Akkreditierung von Doktoratsstudien an Privatuniversitäten in Österreich und insbesondere die damit verknüpften Anforderungen, die an das Forschungsumfeld von Doktoratsstudien gestellt werden.
    • Die Rolle, die Evaluation von Gleichstellung an der Schnittstelle zwischen Wirkungsorientierung und einer zunehmend dezentralisierteren Hochschulpolitik einnehmen kann.
    • Die Schwierigkeit, aber auch die vielfältigen Ansätze, die es für die Evaluation von trans-disziplinärer Forschung gibt.

  • Issue #44
    No. 44 (2017)

    This issue of the fteval Journal for Research and Technology Policy Evaluation contains a number of full papers which were presented at the Open Evaluation conference, organised by the Platform and its partners from the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research (MIoIR) and the Institute for Research and Innovation in Society (IFRIS) in November 2016.