Il Public Engagement delle università italiane nella VQR 2015-19. Uno studio dei casi

The paper presents a study on Italian universities’ PE impact assessment during the 2015-19 Evaluation of Research Quality exercise (Valutazione della Qualità della Ricerca – VQR). It starts by outlining the regulatory framework for evaluating TM and then discusses the main features of the case studies submitted for the VQR 2015-19. After that, it presents a study based on a mixed approach, starting with a quantitative content analysis of a sample of PE cases to describe the universities’ orientations in selecting cases and indicators, highlighting the rewarding choices. It then shows the results of qualitative content analysis exploring the interpretative ways adopted by some PE cases to conceptualize the impact and to define the evaluation designs. Finally, it examines the relationship between TM, research, and teaching to understand the changes generated by PE in the universities.