Evaluations of specific subjects and thematic areas

Our priorities and advice are based on the accumulated knowledge of Norwegian research environments. National evaluations of subjects and topics are among the most important sources of such knowledge.

Ongoing evaluations

Planned evaluations

Name of evaluation Contact Starts

Evaluation of the humanities and social sciences

Jon Holm

2025


Evaluations of subjects and topics include research in the university and university college sector, the institute sector and the health sector. The Research Council uses international experts to conduct a critical review of the Norwegian research system from an international perspective. The experts are also invited to make recommendations to the research organisations, the Research Council and the ministries.

The evaluations are followed up by the Research Council through measures at the national level and are included in the knowledge base for our research policy advice. The evaluations shall also be a tool for the research organisations' own strategic and professional development work.

In the autumn of 2021, the Research Council will initiate a new round of research evaluations. This will be the third round of evaluation of Norwegian research since the Research Council started doing subjects specific evaluations at the end of the 1990s. New in this round is that the institutions will have the opportunity to adapt the evaluations to their own strategies and the sector-specific context. In line with proposals for a national framework for national evaluations for research and higher education (pdf in Norwegian), the Research Council will also ensure that it coordinates its evaluations with relevant evaluations in the field of education.

The third round of professional evaluations will start with evaluations of the life sciences, and subjects within science and technology. Institutions with research in these areas will receive letters with information about upcoming evaluations. For the humanities and social sciences, new evaluations will be started from 2025.

Completed evaluations

Below you will find the main reports from the most recently completed subject specific and thematic evaluations. For subreports and previous evaluations, search the publication database.

Messages at time of print 23 April 2024, 18:03 CEST

Important message

For the application deadline 24 April, we manage our hotline +47 22 03 72 00 Monday 22 April and Thursday 23 April at CEST 08.00–15.45 and Wednesday 24 April at CEST 08.00-13.00.