Conduct the Peer Review
Advancing opportunities for scientific and technical research is a focus of Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU). We are the primary coordinator of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science peer reviews and work with a number of federal and state agencies. We provide an independent and objective process that supports decision makers as they select which research to fund and support.
ORAU maintains a flexible yet structured approach to conducting a peer review, allowing us to meet a variety of customer needs.
Conducting a successful peer review requires implementing a flexible, yet structured process to ensure that customers possess the information necessary to make informed decisions. The peer review process is flexible in that we conduct a variety of reviews to best meet customer needs. It is also structured to ensure that no stone is unturned in providing expert recommendations about how to award research funds that align with each agency's research initiatives.
The peer review process is designed for qualified experts to provide objective recommendations to decision-makers using defined criteria. ORAU has experience with a variety of methods for conducting the peer reviews, including:
- Postal review in which the reviewers submit their individual evaluations without contacting each other.
- Postal review with a conference call to discuss their evaluations.
- Panel review in which the reviewers meet to discuss their evaluations.
ORAU ensures that:
- The review is conducted in a professional manner with a high degree of process integrity.
- The customer receives the agreed-upon results in a timely manner.
- Customer service adds value to the reviewers and customers by:
- Minimizing administrative burden on reviewers.
- Coordinating reviewer travel and process travel reimbursements.
- Providing honoraria payments to eligible reviewers.
- Responding to unanticipated situations.
- Focusing on maintaining integrity throughout the process.
Examples of ORAU experience conducting peer reviews:
- Varied size of reviews. We conduct reviews that range from one proposal to hundreds of proposals in a single review.
- Varied complexity of reviews. We can conduct reviews with a single panel, several concurrent panels, and series of multiple panels.
- Varied purposes. Our vast experience in conducting reviews means that we have evaluated a variety of documents, including research proposals, reports of in-process research, reports of completed research, scientific assessments, poster sessions, and abstracts. The reviews have also included additional information provided in on-site presentations.
- Varied locations. We can conduct reviews in contracted meeting facilities, public facilities, and in research sites. While many of the reviews are conducted in Oak Ridge, Tenn., or Washington, D.C., we are flexible and can conduct reviews at almost any location.
Since 2002, ORAU has steadily increased the number of postal and panel reviews it has conducted each year.