Research and analysis

What methods work for evaluating the impact of public investments in Research, Development and Innovation

This study provides real world examples of impact evaluations of Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) interventions, both nationally and internationally.

• From: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
• Published: 27 September 2024

Documents

What methods work for evaluating the impact of public investments in RD&I

PDF, 1.11 MB, 67 pages

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What methods work for evaluating the impact of public investment in RD&I case studies (annex)

PDF, 1.66 MB, 180 pages

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Details

Evaluating Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) interventions is challenging because:

• It takes a long time to see results
• The benefits are often hard to measure
• It is difficult to observe the impacts directly
• Standard guidelines do not always cover these issues well

This report describes challenges faced in RD&I evaluations and methodological strategies that have been used to address these challenges. It consists of two parts:

• Main report summarising challenges and lessons learnt
• Annex containing 24 case studies that illustrate real world examples of innovative evaluation methodologies used in RD&I

This study is useful for those who are undertaking evaluations as well as policy makers who want to embed evidence collection in policy design.

Published 27 September 2024