The Quality Evaluation is an assessment of the research performance of staff at participating tertiary education organisations (TEOs) by an expert peer review panel. It is held periodically and is the major component of the Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF).

The Quality Evaluation process is based on the submission and assessment of Evidence Portfolios. Peer review panels assess Evidence Portfolios against agreed standards and this process is moderated by the Principal Moderator and Deputy Moderators.

Participating TEOs are also required to review their staff against the eligibility criteria and participate in our audit processes.

Once the panel decisions have been made and approved, the results are given to each participating TEO and a report on the Quality Evaluation results is published.

• TEO participation in the PBRF (PDF 369 KB) (over all four rounds - 2003, 2006, 2012 and 2018)(PDF, 369 Kb)

Information about the results of the PBRF 2018 Quality Evaluation can be found on the PBRF 2018 Quality Evaluation results page.

Individual researchers may request information on the assessment of their own Evidence Portfolio from the 2018 Quality Evaluation.

To request this information, you will need to complete a Request for Evidence Portfolio Information form (PDF 197 KB) (PDF, 197 Kb).

Important: This is a writable PDF form. Please ensure you download and save the form, complete it, then save again before emailing it to customerservice@tec.govt.nz.

You can now choose to have your results emailed to you rather than posted, and we encourage you to select this option for speed and efficiency.

To ensure confidentiality, if we have any concerns related to your identity, the information will not be released.

TEOs cannot request this information on behalf of staff.

The TEC and the Sector Reference Group (SRG) developed operational guidelines for the 2018 Quality Evaluation. These guidelines incorporated the valuable feedback provided by the sector and other stakeholders as a part of the SRG consultation process.

Refer to the PBRF Resources and publications page to view operational guidelines.

The PBRF 2018 Quality Evaluation has been supported by a comprehensive compliance audit programme. The objective of the audit programme has been to provide assurance to the TEC that the guidelines for the 2018 Quality Evaluation were consistently and correctly applied by all participating tertiary education organisations. The audit process had two phases: Process assurance and Data evaluation.

KPMG was appointed as the auditor for the 2018 Quality Evaluation following a competitive procurement process. 

Reports:

• KPMG PBRF 2018 Quality Evaluation Audit Report  (PDF 479 KB) (PDF, 479 Kb) – March 2019
• PBRF Summary Report: Process Assurance (PDF 642 KB) (PDF, 657 Kb) – February 2018
• Audit Methodology for PBRF 2018 Quality Evaluation (PDF 923 KB) (PDF, 945 Kb)