EVALUATION OF BASIC RESEARCH FOR ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL,
Abstract
A government agency such as the Office of Naval Research, which funds basic research through contracts or grants, must make many decisions which affect the course of that research. Contract renewal or support level modifications are particularly important, but several other types of action (including lack of action) have important effects. Unfortunately, the unpredictability of basic research and the absence of a profit motive make quantitative evaluation and objective decision making difficult if not impossible. Further, the interests of the sponsoring agency (e.g., the Navy) must be pursued without unduly restricting or hindering the research work itself. To help guide admittedly subjective evaluation, and thus serve as a guide for rational decision making in research administration, the author proposes a utility model which multiplicatively combines factors representing the primary considerations of quality and appropriateness of research and communication of results; further provision is also made additively for important supplemental considerations. Numerous available indicators of these factors and their sources are identified. The report is concerned solely with evaluation of existing research tasks, not with selection of new ones for support. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 10, 1965
- Accession Number
- AD0624143
Entities
People
- Richard H. Wilcox
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research