The Republic lags behind other OECD countries in being able to evaluate benefits coming from State spending on research, according to a Government advisory body. It recommends that all public policy agencies should have this expertise given that research is now central to our economic and social development.
The Irish Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (ICSTI) yesterday released a policy document, Measuring and Evaluating Research. It examines international best practice when evaluating public funding for science and warns that the Republic now needs these skills.
Current Government spending policy aims to make us into a "knowledge-based society", stated Dr Edward M. Walsh, chairman of ICSTI on the reports launch.
"This new policy environment brings with it many challenges, one of which is to develop mechanisms so that public support for STI [science, technology and innovation] can be prioritised, and so that the outcomes of such support can be measured and evaluated," the report stated.
Policymakers needed this information and also "the taxpayers who finance it", the report stated. It was a complex task however given the uncertainty of scientific research.
"Research by its nature is uncertain, novel and risky," the report said. "As such, it is important that evaluation and monitoring activities are supportive of these phenomena while also providing useful feedback to stakeholders on the nature, merits and likely impacts of research activity under review."
Yet while the public research system was undergoing dramatic change, bringing State support more into line with international norms, "Ireland lies behind other OECD countries in evaluating research programmes and scientific fields".
ICSTI recommended that expertise in this area become "widely embedded in public policy agencies", reflecting the importance of STI to economic and social development.
It also urged that information coming from any evaluation be disseminated widely so the benefits of scientific activity can be understood.
It warned against "unduly simplistic, one-shot summary measures" when introducing evaluation methods. It also recommended that the cost of carrying out such evaluations be included in the overall budget for each STI support programme.
The report was prepared by ICSTI, which advises on science and technology policy issues. It undertook the report under its own auspices and Forfás published it. The full report is available under the heading "publications" on the Forfás web site at http://www.forfas.ie