Quality Assurance in Research
Research is the University’s driving force, setting it apart from mere educational institutions. The passion of faculty members for research guides them, enhancing their educational role and societal contributions. Furthermore, excellence in research is also crucial for ensuring high-quality student education, aiming to develop critical thinking skills and the ability to rigorously analyze economic and social phenomena.
Bocconi University values the importance of cultivating an environment that fosters the creativity and productivity of its members, nurturing cutting-edge research. This type of research aims to advance knowledge in a specific field and includes internationally recognized elements of creativity and originality. Furthermore, Bocconi emphasizes the importance of conducting “responsible” research, meaning it is both credible and beneficial, with a significant and positive impact on society (businesses, institutions, and policymakers broadly).
The Quality Policies implemented by the University have the primary goal of translating the overarching principles guiding efforts to ensure and enhance the quality and effectiveness of teaching processes (teaching and learning), research activities, and support services provided, aligning them with institutional objectives.
The guiding principles include:
A) Prioritizing quality and significance in research activities, particularly within key areas of the social sciences and related disciplines;
B) Upholding freedom and autonomy in research: the University provides its faculty members with the essential conditions for conducting scientific activities (both basic and applied) freely and without constraint, fostering productive collaboration among faculty members and across diverse disciplines.
C) Recognition and support: The University acknowledges and values prestigious research achievements by implementing a system of incentives and various types of recognition.
D) Emphasis on research: The University promotes the integration of research into all areas of activity (Teaching, Third Mission) and emphasizes its importance in relationships with both internal stakeholders (students, faculty, staff) and external ones (Alumni, academic and non-academic communities).
E) Investment in the academia of the future: The University ensures the advancement of future scientific research by training the next generations of researchers through PhD programs. The quality of these programs is maintained through rigorous participant selection and training processes.
Implementation mechanisms:
- Utilization of transparent and rigorous methods to acknowledge excellence in scientific research, based on internationally recognized parameters for defining top-notch outputs;
- Implementation of a structured system of individual incentives to reward excellence in scientific research.
- Autonomy for individual researchers to act.
- Establishment of internal regulations and control systems that aim to prevent behaviors inconsistent with mandatory provisions or unethical conduct while respecting research autonomy.
- Creation of an environment that fosters the development of both basic and applied research activities, achieved through:
- technological infrastructure and information systems;
- mentoring initiatives led by senior faculty members for young researchers;
- collaborations among researchers from different Departments;
- professional support from staff.
- Research Centers affiliated with the University have the autonomy to act within centrally defined parameters, aimed at ensuring their contribution to the achievement of the University's strategic objectives.
- Integration of research and teaching: cutting-edge research influences all educational endeavors.
- Emphasis on effectively communicating research outcomes to non-academic audiences through easily accessible means.
The quality assurance bodies carrying out verification and support of research activities are:
- The University Evaluation Unit addresses and verifies the adequacy and effectiveness of the quality assurance and evaluation activities of the University's research, through the verification of the methodologies used and the results achieved.
- The Quality Assurance Committee assists structures in setting research and positioning objectives and in the annual verification of results, providing them with performance data to rely on. It verifies the consistency between the indicated results and the analyses conducted centrally by the University. Additionally, it trains the people involved in the process.
The structures dealing with research at Bocconi University include:
Departments, organized by scientific area, which deal with individual research. Their duties concern the development and management of human resources and of all initiatives aimed at promoting excellence in basic research and in teaching, such as: selection of new faculty, mentoring of junior faculty, networking with scholars of other institutions in Italy or abroad, organization of internal seminars.
Every Department is governed by a collegial body (“Giunta” or Executive Committee), led by a Head. At the beginning of its mandate, the Department Executive Committee must produce a Plan, accompanied by a budget, illustrating objectives and actions it is going to implement during the term. Plan results are monitored every year, in light of performances detected; in the case of critical situations, corrective actions may be activated.
The Research Committee (RECO) is a collegial body, composed of the Dean for Research and by a representative for every Department; its job is to express opinions and to formulate proposals for the evaluation of individual research and to propose and implement programs to support and incentivize research activity.
The Research Centers, dealing with structured research, involve faculty from one or more Departments and/or external personnel. They are often organized thematically rather than by discipline and carry out sponsored research, consisting of competitive grants, custom research and labs. They are entirely independent from the Departments.
Each Research Center must annually draft a Plan, accompanied by a budget, outlining the objectives and actions to be developed over the next three years. The results of the Plan are monitored annually in light of the performance observed; in case of critical issues, appropriate corrective actions may be taken.
The coordination of the Research Centers' activities and the promotion of individual research initiatives that may have favorable outcomes for such structures are carried out by the Comitato Direttori Centri di Ricerca (CODICE): it is a collegial body composed of the Dean for Research and the Directors of the Research Centers.
B-Quality is the quality portal created by the University Quality Assurance Committee and accessible to the entire Bocconi community (faculty, students, and staff). The platform provides information on QA stakeholders and processes, offering a valuable resource of materials, regulations, guidelines, and training activities.