Observatory IUNE: A new tool for the follow-up of the scientific activity of the Spanish university system

Abstract

The rankings of universities have turned into a strategic tool for the evaluation of the activity at the higher education institutions. In spite of the important development and growth of the international rankings, in Spain still persist some limitations for the analysis of the activities at the universities. To overcome these limitations and to contribute to its study, recently an Observatory for the follow-up of the Scientific Activity of the Spanish University (IUNE) has been created. The principal aim of this article is to detail the main characteristics of this observatory, to explain its philosophy, the methodology used for the selection and obtaining the indicators and to present the principal results.