Universities, like the education sector more broadly, represent a distinctive area within public administration, as they are supported by an external evaluation agency — ANVUR — which has been assigned responsibilities for guidance and monitoring.
This feature sets universities apart from other sectors of public administration, providing them with external evaluation tools aimed at the certification of the public value they generate, in line with the provisions of Legislative Decree 150/2009.

With the assignment of responsibilities in performance evaluation, ANVUR initiated a process of consultation and dialogue with academic institutions to better understand the challenges of adapting performance evaluation regulations to the university context. This dialogue highlighted the need to link the evaluation of administrative performance to the institutions’ core missions and to the financial resources required to achieve them.

This approach has guided the development of the Guidelines adopted by the Agency, which aim to integrate administrative management with academic goals, ensuring that the effectiveness of internal processes and the quality of services support improvements in teaching, research, and engagement with local communities.

Through this evaluation system, ANVUR contributes to ensuring that universities not only fulfill transparency and accountability requirements, but also become active promoters of public value, for the benefit of society and future generations.