Performance-based research funding and its impacts on research performance

Abstract This study analyzed 33 articles related to 11 countries with a performance-based research funding (PBRF) system to explore whether the adoption of a PBRF contributed to research performance after these countries adopted this system. In our analysis, we found that PBRF resulted in positive outcomes in general. In addition, these positive outcomes differ by the type of PBRF design where a metric-based peer review system resulted in more positive outcomes than the systems with peer review system and bibliometric system. This is because a metric-based peer review system combines the strengths from peer review and a bibliometric system. However, this result does not imply that a metric-based peer review system is more effective than the other two systems in any context because each country developed their own systems within their own contexts. This systematic literature review contributes to understanding the overall effects of PBRF across countries and between different policy designs. The details of policy design and their outcomes in a specific research system should be further studied and discussed through case studies.