The IP & Science business of Thomson Reuters, US, has announced a renewed four-year commitment with the Irish Universities Association (IUA) to demonstrate the efficiency and global impact of Ireland's scientific research. The indicators of Thomson Reuters InCites, a customised, web-based research evaluation tool, are seen to enable universities to measure research output and impact, monitor trends, and benchmark their performance against peers at the individual, departmental and global levels.
By renewing its strategic alliance with Thomson Reuters, IUA expects to provide all of Ireland's universities with a comprehensive overview of how their institutions compare to each other and how they fare globally. The alliance is said to support individual institutions' plans to develop new research strategies, retain talent, pinpoint emerging trends and identify new opportunities for collaboration through InCites indicators. The IUA comprises seven universities in Ireland: Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, Dublin City University, National University of Ireland Maynooth, University College Cork, University of Limerick and University Galway.
Additional consortium members include Dublin Institute of Technology, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Higher Education Authority and Science Foundation Ireland.
Built on content from Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge, a research platform for information in the sciences, social sciences arts and humanities, the customised data sets in InCites will provide analytics on authors, journals and fields, as well as connect to the proprietary university research management and profiling systems for full workflow integration.
InCites is a customised, web-based evaluation tool that enables universities, funding bodies and policy makers to analyse their research productivity and compare their output against that of their peers. The solution provides normalised metrics for repeatable analysis of outcomes, cross-regional impacts, discipline comparisons and standardised, accurate reviews for promotion and tenure processes. It also can serve as a support solution in ongoing quality assurance activities.
