“A ‘Big Brother’-style system is being planned to track precisely what academics produce with the money they win in grants, Times Higher Education has learnt. In an approach likely to raise the hackles of scholars who already complain about the burdens of bureaucracy, academics could be required to log every outcome and output from research council-funded work. The ‘evidence’, whether publications, spin-offs or policy advice, would be used to examine the track record of researchers who seek funds in the future. A business case for the proposal, known as the Outputs and Outcomes Collection (OOCs) Project, is due to be considered by Research Councils UK in July. If successful, the system could be rolled out as early as autumn 2010 …” (more)
[Zoë Corbyn, Times Higher Education, 16 April]