“The committee concludes that the research is of outstanding quality and is well-received by peers as well as potential industrial partners and users” and “DIFFER is well-equipped for the future” can be read in the assessment report of DIFFER, carried out as part of the Strategy Evaluation Protocol (SEP). A process most Dutch research organisations have to go through every six years.
Last year, DIFFER was visited by a committee of international experts in the fields of Solar Fuels and Fusion Energy who evaluated the institute on research quality, societal relevance, and viability. At the end of the visit, committee chair Tim Luce complimented DIFFER’s staff with the academic performances of the institute. The evaluation did not only look back, also our current strategy – focused on investing in and opening up our facilities – was considered and well received by the committee.
In addition to the recognition of our strengths, the committee also made eight recommendations. These include further strengthening the national position of our Solar Fuels research and revitalization of our training and development efforts for staff members such as PhD-candidates. All recommendations are currently being followed up within DIFFER. Showing the added value such evaluation to the institute.
The process took around half a year to complete, from writing the self-evaluation document, organizing the site visit and responding to the final assessment report. The recently published position document of our parent organisation NWO marks the end of this process and the start of a new six-year cycle.
Author: David van Walderveen
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News article NWO: NWO-instituten behoren tot de wereldtop
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