The University of Trieste has participated in all the evaluation campaigns promoted by ANVUR, the agency that oversees the national public system for quality assessment of universities and research institutions, both public and private, that receive public funding.
The evaluation of outcomes of the research  (publications) and third mission case studies is carried out by groups of experts (the GEV) appointed by ANVUR and distinguished by scientific field. 
The VQR exercises provide an up-to-date assessment of the state of research in the various scientific fields, in order to promote the improvement of research quality in the assessed institutions and to allocate the performance-based share of the Fondo di Finanziamento Ordinario (FFO) – the Ordinary Financing Fund for the Italian Universitiy system.

Each VQR concludes with the publication of a Research Quality Assessment Report for the years under consideration.

The first VQR exercise, covering the years between 2004 and 2010, started in 2011 and its results were released in the summer of 2013.

The second VQR exercise, covering the years between 2011 and 2014, started in 2015 and its results were released in February 2017.

The third VQR exercise, covering the years between 2015 and 2019, started in 2019 and its results were released in October 2021.

The fourth VQR exercise VQR 2020-2024, covering the years between 2020 and 2024, has just started in 2023 and is still ongoing.