R&D Institutes and Networks

The Evidence Network serves research and technology development institutes, consortia and associated networks that are critical organizations for innovation worldwide. They conduct applications-oriented research and development, create technological innovations and provide novel systems solutions, as they develop and translate ideas into technology-intensive products, processes and services to be commercially or institutionally exploited. These organizations may be structured as independent nonprofit organizations, government departments or agencies, or institutes, consortia or networks sometimes affiliated with universities.

These organizations are multifaceted. Activities include the acquisition, development, dissemination and use of scientific or technological knowledge, often provided to customers through information or technology services. Knowledge exchange services provided through knowledge networks are common. Other activities include fostering collaboration among interested parties, joint projects, and research alliances. In addition, many of these organizations provide companies with financial support, practical training, technology assessments, and standards or methods information.

Challenges

Research and technology development institutes, consortia and networks typically receive significant revenues from public sources. Being subject to annual performance reviews, they need to repeatedly demonstrate their ongoing performance in terms that can be understood by non-technical decision-makers. Their measurement and reporting challenge originates with the difficulty of measuring mission and service performance, forcing these organizations to resort to capacity measures, selective success stories, or measures of financial performance.

The Evidence Network's solution

Focusing directly on mission and service performance, The Evidence Network serves the impact measurement needs of scientific and technological-oriented organizations. For example, our in-depth set of survey questions elicit the effectiveness and impact of a range of technology-related services including: problem solving, design, testing and measurement, prototyping and scale-up, access to laboratories, and provision of access to scientific and technological personnel and intellectual property.

Other service performance measures include the type and amount of financing provided, the degree to which additional secondary financing was stimulated, the use to which the funds were put, and the quality of the financing processes.