Evaluation Report Publications of the Academy of Finland 1/11

1.4  Implementation
The steering group identified eight major chemical subdisciplines in the 41 research 
units to be evaluated. The evaluation covered the five-year period 2005–2009. One unit 
belongs to a large governmental research institute while the remaining units are research 
groups, laboratories or departments from nine universities. 
The Academy prepared an evaluation form that was sent to the units at the end of 
December 2009 and asked for it to be returned in mid-February. The steering group 
later extended the deadline to mid-March, due to the lack of responses from certain 
units. The evaluation form consisted of two parts. Part I contained tables for 
quantifiable data on research profile, resources and research output: research fields, 
personnel, funding, publications, education and collaboration. Part II asked for the 
unit’s self-assessment with the following headings: Research Strategy, SWOT, 
Infrastructure, Publications, Self-Evaluation, Collaboration, Societal Impact, 
Administrative and Educational Load, and Future Prospects. It was stated that 
selected parts of the information given in Part I could be published in the evaluation 
report while Part II was intended for evaluation purposes only. It was also stated that 
no data concerning individual researchers would be published. 
The objective of the evaluation, as defined to the expert panel in the Terms of 
Reference (Appendix C), was to evaluate chemistry research in Finland during the 
period 2005–2009. The panel was asked to look at the research from three different 
viewpoints: reviewing the field as a whole, the different subfields, and the unit level; 
comparing the quality, innovativeness and efficiency of the research with international 
standards; and providing recommendations for the future development of chemistry 
research in Finland. Besides scientific quality, important issues included personnel and 
career policies, researcher training, adequacy of resources, and networking. 
Of the 41 units selected, 35 were interviewed by the panel, while six units were 
assessed based on the evaluation form only. This decision was justified by the 
limitations of what the panel could be expected to accomplish in five days and, on the 
other hand, by a wish to include certain units strong in chemistry but not clearly 
profiling themselves as chemistry units. The interviews planned for 19–23 April 2010 
had to be cancelled due to the closure of European airspace and were finally 
conducted during 13–17 September. The interviews had a typical duration of 70 
minutes and consisted of a short introductory presentation by the unit followed by a 
discussion between panel members and unit representatives. At least three panel 
members were present during each interview. After the interview the panel had a 
short session for collecting observations and opinions.