UGC pushes fairness in research selection
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has introduced major reforms in the evaluation of research project proposals under the second phase of the Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation (HEAT) project to ensure greater transparency, impartiality and accountability in research funding.
The changes cover the preparation, submission and assessment stages of the sub-project selection process, according to a UGC press release issued on Friday.
Under the revised system, research proposals submitted for funding will be assessed using special codes, keeping the identities of applicant researchers and their affiliated institutions hidden from evaluators.
The UGC has also introduced a lottery-based mechanism to select final reviewers from a panel of potential assessors, preventing personal identification and reducing the possibility of institutional influence in the evaluation process.
UGC Chairman Professor Dr Mamun Ahmed disclosed the reforms while speaking as the chief guest at a workshop titled “Introduction to Sub-Project Evaluation” organised under the HEAT project at the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences in the capital.
The UGC chairman said some negative perceptions had emerged regarding sub-project selection during the first phase of the HEAT project.
Although those perceptions did not reflect the actual situation, he said the commission wanted to prevent any negative impression among researchers and the academic community.
“Although those perceptions differed from reality, UGC does not want any kind of negative impression to persist among researchers and the academic community. For this reason, maximum importance has been given to transparency and impartiality in the evaluation process of the second phase,” he said.
Dr Mamun Ahmed said an initial reviewer panel was prepared from three reliable sources, after which a high-level committee finalised the panel by assessing researchers’ publications, research experience and capabilities.
He added that two reviewers are being selected through a lottery system for each proposal.
The UGC chairman said 180 research projects that received funding last year are being regularly monitored.
He warned that funding would be suspended and legal action taken if any project is found involved in irregularities or fails to achieve its stated targets.
The reforms have been introduced under the second phase of the HEAT project as part of efforts to improve research governance and strengthen confidence in the country’s higher education research funding system.
