Speech

Research quality needs to be re-evaluated to avoid regression

The results of the 2020–24 VQR show that the strength of Italian universities lies not in the gaps between individual institutions, but in their overall resilience

by Gerardo Canfora*

17 June 2026

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

What lies behind this statistical anomaly?
Future prospects

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

For at least twenty years, Italian universities have been viewed almost exclusively through the lens of rankings, fierce competition and the pursuit of excellence. The underlying idea is simple, almost self-evident: not all universities are equal, and it is only right that public resources should reward those that achieve the best results. It is against this backdrop that the recent Research Quality Assessment (VQR 2020–2024) by the National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes (ANVUR) – our country’s most important scientific barometer – takes place.

Personally, I have never questioned the value of evaluation. Measuring, comparing and publishing data is a fundamental act of transparency that is essential for improving the system and spending public money responsibly. Precisely for this reason, however, it is worth analysing in depth what the latest data actually tells us.

Let’s take the Iras 1_2 indicator, the VQR parameter that combines research quality with the size of the university. This is not just technical jargon for insiders: this figure determines funding allocations, influences families’ choices and shapes a university’s reputation. One wonders: how much weight does scientific merit really carry, and how much, by contrast, is down to the sheer size of the university?

To understand this, we cross-referenced the IRAS 1_2 data with a basic figure: the total number of professors (full and associate) and researchers at each university. The result is surprising.

The two measures correlate almost perfectly, with a correlation coefficient of over 0.99. In short, the two sets of data move in unison. The size of the institution alone accounts for as much as 99.4% of the indicator’s variability, and the university rankings obtained by sorting universities by Iras 1_2 and by number of professors show infinitesimal variations: the average shift is just 1.3 places.

What lies behind this statistical anomaly?

The first possibility is that the indicator is one-dimensional, that is, incapable of capturing qualitative nuances, and thus ends up rewarding only critical mass. If that were the case, we would have a serious problem with our current assessment tools.

The second interpretation, which I personally find more convincing, is more profound and rarely features in public debate: the pursuit of quality is widespread and decidedly uniform across the university system.

Whilst politicians and the media focus on who is rising and who is falling in the rankings, the VQR figures reveal a different reality. If the main indicator of quality is the size of the universities, this means that centres of excellence are not isolated oases in a sea of mediocrity. On the contrary, we are looking at a network of universities which, despite their different specialisms, collectively uphold the nation’s scientific standards.

Of course, historical and regional differences do exist, and in some contexts they do carry weight. But the overarching political reality is quite different: quality is widespread, far more so than the prevailing narrative is willing to admit.

LA VQR 2020-24

Future prospects

Perhaps the time has come to challenge the dogma of recent years – namely, the idea that the sole priority of Italian research is to separate the ‘few outstanding individuals’ from the rest of the group. For a country like Italia, which invests far less in its universities than other advanced economies, this widespread quality is not a flaw resulting from a lack of differentiation, but a strategic asset. The real challenge is not to intensify competition or invent new rankings, but to ensure the entire system does not regress, whilst continuing to produce knowledge and human capital. The true strength of Italian universities lies not in the gaps between individual institutions, but in the overall resilience of the network.

*Full Professor of Computer Engineering at the University of Sannio

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