The Evaluation and Statistics Program (PEEst) aims to contribute to institutional decision-making processes based on evidence, offer training in evaluation, link supply and demand through a connection with the community, and develop innovative evaluation methodologies that respond to the specific needs of the territory.

For the fulfillment of these purposes, the PEEst works organized around 3 fundamental components:

Institutional evaluation

The objective of this component is to promote the use of monitoring and evaluation as tools of empirical, rigorous and useful evidence to contribute to decision-making and institutional learning processes.

The purpose is the design and implementation of a permanent system for the collection and analysis of information, both internal and contextual, aimed at contributing to UTEC's management and decision-making processes. To do this, it works in coordination with the different areas of the University.

Bi-annual monitoring and analysis of the behavior of indicators with an established annual goal is ensured, following an early warning methodology that contributes to ensuring compliance with the strategic objectives defined by the University. In the first semester of the year, a report is prepared that acts as an early warning; the annual report describes the behavior of the indicators defined in the strategic plan.

In addition, the institutional evaluation component responds to external and internal requests for information regarding basic statistics of UTEC.

Connection with the community and education

This component aims to make evaluation available as a tool that stimulates and contributes to the processes of co-creation of solutions in the territory to face the challenges of the productive sectors and technological change.

At the same time, it aims to increase evaluation capacities in the strategic sectors of the country in which UTEC has an academic offer. This requires training in evaluation, either in specific and customized aspects or in more global aspects related to evaluation as a discipline.

Within this framework, UTEC offers the Diploma of Evaluation for Change, a postgraduate qualification designed to contribute to the training of professionals and specialists in the evaluation of projects, instruments and programs, which aims to strengthen the skills necessary to design and implement evaluations, as well as acting as critical counterparts in the commissioning of third-party evaluations.

The design of this degree responds to a change-oriented approach within the framework of a transformative paradigm and with emphasis on the practical and applied nature of evaluation.

Additionally, the elective courses of the diploma contribute to the offer of credits granted by UTECInnova for students enrolled in undergraduate degrees who are close to graduation and for external participants who are not yet related to the university.

Research

The objective of this component is to contribute with and promote the production of knowledge, understanding evaluation as a type of applied research that cuts across all sectors, particularly in the areas of science, technology and innovation.

The PEEst also works to generate knowledge within the framework of the evaluation discipline. In particular, in the development of innovative evaluation methodologies that contribute to overcoming the limitations of traditional evaluation approaches in the field of science, technology and innovation.

The research carried out from the PEEst program aims to contribute to an open and responsible evaluation practice that helps alleviate the problem of temporality, respond to the growing demand for information on the impacts of science, expand the identification of the variety of research users, and help researchers make decisions to alleviate the tension they face between fulfilling their scientific and social mission.

Team

Mariangel Pacheco - Professor

Patxi Olavarría - Program Leader

Cecilia García - Assistant Professor of Quantitative Methods

Ivana Marsicano - Associate Professor of Mathematics

Magdalena Rosado - Associate Professor of Evaluation applied to Territorial Development