BEYOND THE NUMBERS: EFFICIENCY, TIME, TECHNOLOGY, AND PUBLIC VALUE IN THE ASSESSMENT OF FEDERAL UNIVERSITIES

Resumen

Efficiency measurement is a relevant instrument for the management of public universities, especially in contexts of budget constraints and increasing demands for accountability. Quantitative indicators, however, may provide incomplete representations when applied to multi-product organizations in which teaching, research, extension, innovation and public value coexist under different cost structures and time horizons. This chapter develops an original reflection based on evidence previously identified in the cases of the Center for Alternative and Renewable Energy (CEAR) and the Biotechnology Center (CBIOTEC), both at the Federal University of Paraíba. Rather than reproducing previous studies, it proposes an analytical synthesis centered on three factors that may explain gaps between measured efficiency and institutional performance: output selection, heterogeneity of production structures and the time lag between resources and results. As its main contribution, the chapter presents the Three-Dimensional Model of University Efficiency, combining relative efficiency, temporality, and institutional and public value. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) remains useful for assessing public expenditure provided that its results are understood as evidence conditioned by the selected variables, period and decision-making units, rather than as absolute measures of institutional merit. The chapter concludes that university assessment should combine quantitative rigor with contextual interpretation, allowing indicators to support managerial decisions without reducing the complexity of the university mission.