Bangladesh University Grants Commission (UGC) has introduced significant reforms to the evaluation process for research project proposals to ensure greater transparency, impartiality, and accountability in research funding.
These necessary changes have been made at every stage of proposal preparation, submission and evaluation in the research sub-project selection process under the second phase of the Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation (HEAT) project, said a press release here.
Under the new system, proposals submitted for research funding are being evaluated through special codes while keeping the identity of the applicant researcher and their affiliated institution concealed.
Additionally, final reviewers are being selected through a lottery from a panel of potential reviewers, eliminating any scope for personal identification or institutional influence.
UGC Chairman Prof Dr Mamun Ahmed shared this information on Friday as the chief guest at a workshop titled "Introduction to Sub-Project Evaluation" organized under the HEAT project at the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences in the city.
The UGC Chairman said that some negative perceptions had developed surrounding sub-project selection in the first phase of the HEAT project.
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 also informed that after forming an initial reviewer panel from three reliable sources, a high-level committee determined the final panel by verifying the relevant researchers' publications, research experience, and capabilities. Two reviewers have been selected through a lottery for each proposal.
He further said that the 180 research projects that received funding last year are being regularly monitored. If any irregularities or failures to achieve set targets are found in any project, funding will be stopped and legal action will be taken.