Personnel and Performance in University Science: Alignment of Management Incentives

This study examines the mechanisms through which research performance evaluations influence human resources in university-based science. Using a scoping review methodology, we analyzed domestic and international publications published since 2008. The findings demonstrate that research performance assessment serves as a component of science policy designed to facilitate goal attainment, a direct management tool influencing professional values and priorities, and a mechanism for personnel renewal. The effects of performance assessment are moderated by several factors, including: linkage of results to career advancement and funding, local implementation conditions, availability of teaching support programs, and disciplinary and professional status of researchers. Current performance improvement policies effectively support research community renewal and enhanced career mobility. However, they hinder staffing for high-risk / breakthrough research, maintenance of research traditions and continuity, and training of new researchers. The study identifies incentive conflicts that manifest through disruption of established knowledge production practices, assignment of research functions to non-specialized staff, emergence of unethical productivity-enhancing practices. We recommend developing systematic approaches to mitigate these contradictions through identification and analysis of existing measures that reduce negative impacts of performance assessments on human capital.