In this paper we propose an indicator for estimating the scientific productivity of scholars and, also, of the structures and institutions to which they pertain, The data needed for the indicator come from administrative databases managed by CINECA. Our exercise is aimed at measuring the quality and quantity of publications but it can be extended to any activity related to research, without conceptual and operational difficulties. The indicator, whose estimates can be computed with fast and cheap procedures, is not explicitly oriented to the evaluation of scientific research quality, but enables to highlight the immediate relevance for the meritocratic innovations that could be introduced into the Italian university system.