The Estonian Research Council organises the evaluation and thematic evaluation of research and development.

Evaluation is an external assessment of a research and development institution in a specific field, comparing its level to internationally recognised standards in the respective field. External evaluation means that an evaluation committee composed of experts independent of the institution provides an assessment of the institution’s R&D activities on the basis of a self-evaluation report and/or a site visit.

The purpose of thematic evaluation is to assess the level and organisational aspects of research and development in order to support the design of research policy decisions and measures, evaluate their impact and implementation, and provide feedback to R&D institutions, universities and universities of applied sciences.