Rubrics are commonly used in the education sector to aggregate performance data for reporting and learning purposes. Rubrics are gaining importance in organizational performance and program evaluation practice. According to a number of evaluation practitioners, rubrics can make transparent how excellence and value are defined and applied to evaluation questions or indicators in a given context. When rubrics are well developed and implemented, they can substantially increase the use and credibility of evaluations. Experience using rubrics, however, has shown that this approach is challenging to fully integrate into evaluation practice. This paper presentation summarizes two pilot projects for the National Research Council Canada using rubrics for S&T portfolio evaluations. In particular, presenters will share their views on the value added of rubrics for both the evaluation team and clients from design to reporting, as well as its challenges within an organizational context.