Tunisia Aims to Establish a More Efficient and International-Standardized Research Evaluation System
The Tunisian Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation in Higher Education and Scientific Research (ATEA) recently organized a national conference in Tunis to discuss the establishment of a more efficient and internationally-aligned research evaluation system. The conference aimed to bring together various stakeholders in the higher education and research sectors to harmonize national regulatory frameworks with international best practices.
According to ATEA's Director-General, Salma Damak, the conference is part of the agency's efforts to revise the criteria for evaluating research. This approach involves a participatory process that involves various actors in the higher education, research, and innovation sectors to develop a more coherent and transparent evaluation system.
The conference focused on developing a common vision for modern research evaluation trends, identifying the main challenges associated with implementing these mechanisms in the Tunisian context, and defining the basis for a roadmap for future steps. The event featured presentations on international trends in research evaluation, as well as participatory workshops to define operational priorities and establish the fundamental principles of future reference documents and procedure guides.
Damak emphasized that once the new criteria are adopted, training sessions will be organized for over 400 ATEA experts to enable them to master these standards during periodic evaluations of research units, centers, and laboratories.
The agency also aims to digitize the entire evaluation system in a later phase to facilitate the work of experts and concerned institutions. The current reference document has not been revised for many years and is still based on paper files, which requires modernizing working tools to move towards a more efficient and transparent digital system.
Mourad Bellasoued, Chief of Cabinet of the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, highlighted that the development of a new national strategy for research and innovation will strengthen Tunisia's position as a regional hub in the fields of science, technology, and innovation, enabling it to adapt to accelerated global mutations.
The strategy aims to value national scientific skills and transform research results into technological solutions and start-ups that generate economic growth and sustainable development, while strengthening Tunisia's international reputation to attract partnerships and investments.
Bellasoued pointed out that Tunisia has a significant scientific capital, with over 22,000 researchers and nearly 12,000 doctoral students, with a scientific production that places the country among the top African countries in terms of publications and researcher density.
However, the sector faces several challenges, including limited funding, low private sector contribution, scattered research structures, and a lack of coordination between them, as well as a deficit of cooperation between universities and the economic and social environment.
The minister assured that the ministry is working to improve governance and strengthen coordination between different stakeholders to redirect research towards national priorities.
It is worth noting that this national conference, organized with the support of the French Embassy in Tunisia, is part of the "Horizon Recherche" project, a two-year bilateral cooperation project launched in 2025 that brings together ATEA and the cultural cooperation service of the French Embassy to support the development and quality of the research scientific system in Tunisia.
The conference was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Higher Education and several partner ministries, university presidents, deans, and directors of institutions, research structure managers, doctoral school representatives, and representatives from the doctoral community and the economic and social world.
