Constant quality control and strict evaluation procedures
are a major concern of INRIA management and its
Evaluation Committee.
The method for evaluating existing research project-teams
is being regularly improved over the years. Project-teams belonging
to a given “theme” are evaluated simultaneously, to make
comparisons and a global understanding of INRIA's policy possible. This
takes place every 4 years. A group of about ten external experts
from the scientific community and from industry receives reports and
papers from the research project-teams, as well as documents explaining
INRIA's strategy and evaluation criteria. Evaluation takes place
in English. Written entirely independently from INRIA's management,
the evaluation report contains both a global analysis of the theme
and recommendations regarding each individual project-team.
Project-team leaders make written comments that are discussed along
with the report at the project-teams committee level and then at the Evaluation
Board level. The Evaluation Board makes recommendations to INRIA's
President, who consults the Scientific Board. The Scientific Board
compares the report and the recommendations of the Evaluation Board
and makes its opinion and recommendations known. No stage in this process
can be considered a rubber stamp. The external report and the opinion
of the Scientific Board will influence durably INRIA's strategy.
As a last stage to this process, a formal decision is made by the
President to extend or to halt each research project-team. When a project-team
is stopped, the researchers are given time to think about joining other
project-teams or proposing new objectives for the creation of a new
project-team, under the guidance of the head of the research centre and the project-teams
committee. Of course, one must pay attention to the fulfillment of
the team's commitments, in particular with respect to PhD students
and research contracts.
The method for evaluating research project-teams
in detail. 
