ANECA will evaluate the applications for the Scientific Career Plan of the University of Cadiz

The National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA) and the University of Cadiz (UCA) have signed today an agreement by which the Agency will evaluate the applications submitted for the programs of the Excellence Research Career Plan (CIE) of the University of Cadiz, called UCA INTEGRA and UCA ESTABILIZA, according to the successive calls published for the same. The University of Cadiz is the first Spanish university whose scientific career plan programs are evaluated by the Agency.

The Agency thus contributes to the improvement of the quality of the Higher Education system, collaborating with the UCA, which has adopted as a strategic objective the attraction and retention of research talent, for which, among other actions, it develops the CIE Plan.

Through this agreement ANECA is committed to:

• Designate in each call an ad hoc committee with expert evaluators in the scientific fields of the applications, which will be in charge of evaluating the applications received, and which will respond to the profile required to be part of the National Accreditation Commissions to University Teaching Bodies.
• To summon the evaluation panel, within the month following the reception of all the documentation, to carry out the evaluation.
• To transfer to the evaluating staff the criteria set by the UCA to be applied for the evaluation of the calls.
• To issue for each application a previous report with the evaluation, justification of the same and pertinent observations. This phase of the evaluation process will be concluded one month after the constitution of the aforementioned Committees.
• To review the allegations that may be presented by the applicants to the previous report and to issue the final reports. 
• Any other activity that the parties consider important for the achievement of the objectives of this agreement.

At the signing ceremony were present, on behalf of ANECA.

• Mercedes Siles Molina, Director.
• Clelia Martínez Maza, Director of the Teacher Evaluation Division.
• Asunción López López, Manager.
• José Ángel Domínguez Pérez, president of the Internationalization Commission.

From the UCA attended:

• Francisco Piniella Corbacho, rector.
• María Jesús Mosquera Díaz, Vice Rector for Science and Technology Policy.
• José María Rodríguez Izquierdo Gil, General Director of Human Research Capital.

Mercedes Siles Molina has emphasized that "the agreement we are signing today is part of the Agency's mission to generate confidence, security and stability in the knowledge system, and to accompany the institutions so that they can achieve their objectives", and thanked ANECA for the confidence placed in the Agency.

Francisco Piniella, assured that the commitment with ANECA is due to the fact that in the UCA "we want rigorous controls, and that is the prestige that the Agency has".

On the other hand, María Jesús Mosquera highlighted the decision of her University to "externalize the evaluation and let the national agency carry it out. It is very important that ANECA maintains its functions and competences, which give homogeneity to the whole national territory".