The paper seeks to highlight some of the main features of Italian research assessment experiences covering the period 2001-2024. The analysis draws on publicly available institutional data related both to CIVR VTR 2001-03, and to ANVUR VQR 2004-10, 2011-14, 2015-19, 2020-24 research evaluation cycles, together with other documentation and international literature. The longitudinal investigation will be developed using mainly Michel Foucault’s theories on “governmental rationality” (1991) and “discipline/punishment” (1979), in tandem with the principles and tenets articulated by Miller and Rose (1990) and Rose and Miller (1992). The study illuminates the evolution of Italian research assessment experiences, shedding light on a wide range of “technologies of government” which were pivotal to align institutional behaviour with macro-level research evaluation procedures. The study will also emphasize the role played by diverse boards of experts which implemented “procedures of examination and assessment” and “techniques of notation, computation and calculation”, thus aiming to translate governmental programmes into practices, and developing a new professional VQR-related vocabulary.
Keywords: research evaluation, universities, VQR, VTR, Foucault, government mentality, technologies of government
