Definitions of R & D : report with evidence.

  • Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords. Science and Technology Committee.
Date:
1990
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: Definitions of R & D : report with evidence. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    127/148 (page 125)
    definitions as a means to ensure compatibility and coherency in future evaluations and comparisons of research activity. 1.5 Environmental research is increasingly carried out in partnership with overseas groups or within the framework of international science programmes. This, together with the expanding role of the EC in research, underlines the importance of ensuring that common definitions are used between countries in defining R&D expenditure. NERC notes the planned revision of the Frascati definitions by the OECD, and welcomes the intent of the House of Lords Sub-Committee to contribute to the revision of the Frascati definitions. 2. QUESTIONS RAISED BY THE SUB-COMMITTEE Responses to the 8 questions raised by the Sub-Committee are given in the following paragraphs. 3. Question 1; Do you use the Frascati definitions in making returns to the “Annual Review of Government funded R&D”’’? If not what definitions do you use? 3.1 Yes: The DTI Statistics Division requires the Frascati definitions to be used. 3.2 To date NERC has made little use of the Frascati category “experimental development”’. This could change in the future as a consequence of a greater involvement by Council in a range of very specialised development activities that are needed to support NERC research programmes. Examples of programmes where there is a significant development component are: advanced instrumentation; information handling; environmental modelling and associated software for marine and other purposes. 4. Question 2: Do you use the same definitions in your day to day operations, or is it necessary to use other definitions? If so how do these definitions differ from those used in the Annual Review? 4.1 The classification of the different activities supported by NERC as a part of our day operations is done on the basis of such factors as: areas of science (Earth sciences, marine sciences etc); funding source (Science Budget or other); expenditure type (salaries, capital equipment etc) and location (institute/HEI) where the expenditure occurred. It follows from this that the Frascati definitions are of little value for the day to day management of NERC programmes. 5. Question 3: Do you experience any difficulty in converting your figures for R&D spending into the format required for the Annual Review? Do you encounter any other problems in making returns to the Annual Review? 5.1 A principal difficulty in providing figures for R&D spending for the Annual Review is the suspicion that different contributors are interpreting the definitions of R&D in different ways. More precise definitions and/or clear guidelines on the application of the definitions are needed particularly in the separation of basic from strategic research (see Table 1.22 in 1988 Review). 5.2 Amore detailed problem is that the NERC accounting system is not geared to producing figures net of VAT input tax, which is a requirement of DTI. 6. Question 4: What explanatory notes or guidelines do you use in interpreting the Frascati definitions? Are they adequate for this purpose? What degree of subjectivity is involved in categorising your R&D spending? 6.1 NERC uses the guidelines provided by DTI in interpreting the Frascati definitions. 7. Question 5: Do the Frascati definitions provide a clear means of differentiating between: a) basic and applied research; b) research and development; c) between R&D and other related activities; for the purpose of: i) compiling statistics of your Council’s R&D spending; ii) compiling R&D statistics within a scientific and/or industrial sector; ill) comparing R&D activity between scientific and industrial sectors; iv) Making international comparisons of R&D activity? 7.1 A 12 part answer with explanatory notes is given following the matrix structure of the question: i) il) no (2) (1) no (3) ili) no (2) (1) no (3) iv) no (2) (1) no (3) Notes: 1. Not widely applicable at present to NERC 2. Strategic research, which is not currently included in the Frascati definitions, forms an important element of the research carried out or supported by NERC. The Annual Review of Government Funded Research and Development includes a definition of strategic research as a