Estonia

Regular Evaluation of Research and Development (R&D) Activities

Purpose

The Regular Evaluation of R&D Activities in Estonia is a national research assessment exercise based on external peer review of research-performing institutions in six fields: Natural Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Medical and Health Sciences, Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, Social Sciences, and Humanities and the Arts.

The purpose of the exercise is to periodically assess research-performing units within a given field, evaluate whether their activities meet internationally recognized standards, assure the quality of research activities, and ensure the eligibility of institutions for public R&D funding.

The exercise is primarily summative, assessing past performance against international standards. At the same time, it includes a formative element: one of the three evaluation criteria focuses on forward-looking capacity, including the sustainability and potential of research activities. Evaluated institutions receive a written report with feedback and recommendations for improvement.

A positive evaluation decision, valid for seven years, grants research institutions the right to receive state-budget funding for its R&D activities, including base funding and the possibility to apply for other national competitive R&D grant schemes, in accordance with legislation.

Year of Introduction
2010

Census period
Maximum of 7 years

Governance agency(s)
Ministry of Education and Research (HTM)
Estonian Research Council (ETAG)

Purpose
Funding Allocation & Reputation
Accountability
Organisational learning & strategic development

Unit of Assessment
Units within the Organisation/Research groups

Focus of Assessment
Scholarly Outputs
Scientific Impact
Societal Interaction
Other – Sustainability of Research

For higher education institutions, a positive decision additionally grants the right to open doctoral programmes in the evaluated research field, in accordance with the Universities Act.

Base funding is allocated according to a formula only to institutions that have been positively evaluated. Institutions that receive a negative evaluation decision have the opportunity to address identified issues and request a re-evaluation for a fee.

Governance

The regular evaluation in Estonia is commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Research (HTM). The minister appoints the international expert panel and, based on the panel’s recommendation, issues the final field-by-field decision (positive or negative) for each institution.

The Estonian Research Council (ETAG) administers the evaluation: it organises the evaluation process, drafts the evaluation guidelines in agreement with HTM, manages self-evaluations via the Estonian Research Information System (ETIS), and coordinates site visits. The panel’s rules of procedure are approved by the minister, while the guidelines are approved by ETAG in coordination with HTM.

While participation is application-based, in practice it is strongly incentivised for institutions seeking or maintaining eligibility for public R&D funding and doctoral provision.

Operation of the exercise

Focus of the assessment
The regular evaluation focuses on the assessment of scholarly outputs and scientific impact, the sustainability of research (including indicators such as the number of R&D employees by position type, the proportion of women and men among R&D employees, the number of doctoral students and PhDs awarded, and the volume and structure of R&D revenues), and societal interaction.

Unit of assessment and scope
In Estonia’s national research assessment exercise, the unit of assessment is a research-performing unit in a specific field within each institution. The six fields – Natural Sciences; Engineering and Technology; Medical and Health Sciences; Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences; Social Sciences; and Humanities and the Arts – are assessed separately.

Methods
The regular evaluation is based on informed peer review conducted by international experts. It uses self-evaluation reports and quantitative data submitted by R&D institutions in the Estonian Research Information System (ETIS), as well as site visits.

A panel of international experts in the relevant field reviews the submitted materials, meets with the evaluated institution, and prepares an expert opinion and report.

The evaluation is structured around three main criteria: scientific impact, sustainability of research, and societal impact. Each criterion has defined threshold levels, which include both quantitative and qualitative indicators. Quantitative indicators are intended to support, not replace, peer review, and the panel’s recommendations are based primarily on qualitative assessments.

For more details, see page 5 of the Assessment guidance for regular evaluation of research and development 2024

History, reviews and evaluations

Evaluation of research and development (R&D) activities has been carried out in Estonia since 2010 either as a regular evaluation, aimed at assessing the level of a specific field within a research and development institution, or as a targeted evaluation. Earlier national evaluations of Estonian research were conducted in 1991-1992, 1994, and 2000-2003).

Three major national organisations – the Estonian Academy of Sciences, the Estonian Young Academy of Sciences, and the Estonian Research Council – have signed the CoARA agreement. The Estonian Research Council has prepared and submitted to CoARA an action plan for the continuous improvement of research evaluation (The CoARA action plan of the Estonian Research Council for the continuous improvement of research evaluation).

According to the expert, who provided the information on the Regular Evaluation of Research and Development (R&D) Activities in Estonia, Kristi Palm, “The evaluation of the research system is currently being reformed due to new legislation, and CoARA commitments are being taken into account in the design process. The new design will be completed in the first half of 2026”.

Last updated: March 2026

Acknowledgement: Information provided by Kristi Palm and Marko Piirsoo.