Measuring the effectiveness of R&D

OVERVIEW:Measuring the effectiveness of R&D has been a perennial challenge. IRI's Research-on-Research working group Measuring the Effectiveness of R&D sought to investigate how managers define R&D effectiveness and what metrics they use to measure it. Via surveys and questionnaires, attendees at IRI meetings revealed that while the three top metrics are unchanged over the past 15 years, there were significant differences in metrics used depending on the industry type. The study also revealed issues with metrics in general and the need for new metrics to meet the changing R&D environment.