GS2 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has introduced a new framework called the Impact of Research and Innovation Scale (IRIS) to evaluate biomedical and public health research. However, experts warn that this system may narrow research priorities and discourage public-interest research.
What is IRIS?
- IRIS is a metric system designed to quantify research outcomes across biomedical, healthcare, and allied disciplines.
- It measures research output using Publication-Equivalents (PEs) — a uniform scoring unit.
- Scores are assigned based on research papers, patents, policy influence, innovations, and commercial products.
How Does the PE System Work?
| Indicator Type | PE Value Assigned |
| Policy-cited research paper | 10 PEs |
| Commercialized device in public use | 20 PEs |
| Academic commentary/narrative review | 0 PEs |
- The scoring system clearly favours commercial outputs over academic knowledge dissemination.
- A device developed for commercial use fetches twice the score compared to research influencing public policy.
Issues and Criticisms
- Public-good research may be neglected as IRIS incentivizes market-driven outputs.
- Basic science and academic discourse may suffer due to zero PE scores for review papers and commentaries.
- There are fears that researchers may avoid topics with long-term public health value if they don’t earn high PE scores.
- IRIS may unintentionally promote commercialization over ethical, social, or policy-relevant research.
Need for Better Framework
- Critics argue that IRIS must be developed using robust scientific methodology and peer consultation.
- Researchers suggest using a Delphi method—an expert consensus-building tool—to assign fair PE values.
- Transparency, accountability, and inclusive evaluation criteria are essential to ensure balance between innovation and public interest.
Way Forward
- The impact assessment model must recognize diverse forms of scientific contribution.
- Instead of a commercially biased model, India needs a holistic evaluation system that values:
- Public health outcomes
- Ethical research
- Open-access knowledge
- Local problem-solving innovation