How does the NRO function?

The National Coordination Body for Educational Research (NRO) is functioning well and carries out its tasks effectively, efficiently, and transparently. This is the conclusion of our evaluation of the NRO, which was made public today. The mission of the NRO is: "To contribute to the enhancement of the quality of education with knowledge from research." To achieve this, the NRO programmes, finances, and disseminates research to strengthen the scientific basis for choices in education and to stimulate the use of results from educational research. Specifically, we are positive about the following aspects: - The NRO has a well-thought-out and detailed governance model. The different committees of the NRO explicitly focus on tripartite representation. The organization's layers are designed to align as closely as possible with the field. The embedding of the NRO within NWO offers more advantages than disadvantages. - The NRO succeeds in programming based on demand. There is intensive interaction with the field. Through the knowledge agendas, the NRO positions itself more clearly in the coordinating role. - The NRO involves all educational sectors and maintains a balance between the target groups of science, educational practice, and educational policy. (Untranslated) - The NRO finances educational research adequately. The embedding within NWO provides clear added value. - The NRO aims for transparency and actively involves the field through surveys and program and expert committees. In terms of the core tasks of financing and disseminating, the NRO is transparent enough. We also identify some points of attention and make several concrete recommendations: - Recommendation 1: Improve the balance between structural and additional resources. - Recommendation 2: Develop a clearer vision on how to fulfil the NRO's mission and how dissemination contributes to this. - Recommendation 3: Improve the transparency of programming that arises from additional resources. It is important for the NRO to remain agile and responsive to current issues, but it should be clear to the field where research questions and resources come from. - Recommendation 4: Involve the field in the transition to a knowledge institute. Be explicit about the opportunities a knowledge institute offers and the role the knowledge institute aims to play in relation to knowledge institutions. For this evaluation, we conducted desk research, twenty (group) interviews involving 36 stakeholders, and a survey among applicants for subsidies and grants. This survey was sent to 2,722 individuals and completed by 720 (net response rate of 32.2%). Finally, a SWOT analysis was conducted. The responses of both NWO and NRO to our evaluation can be read here. We are pleased that both organisations endorse our conclusions and recommendations. We will continue to follow the development of the NRO with interest, particularly in light of the announced budget cuts from the most recent OCW budget.