Folie 1

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The Austrian RTD Funding System and the Role of
Evaluation
Michaela C. Topolnik Austrian Council for
Research and Technology DevelopmentGeneral
Secretariat
OECD, Madrid 3-4 July 2008
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• The Austrian RTD system
• Main actors
• The Austrian Council and its mission
• Main sources of RTD public funding
• Allocation of Resources
• Evaluation in the field of RTD in Austria
• Special Features and recent activities

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Austria in intl. Comparison EIS 2007

• European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) of
  ECAustria belongs to the group of the
  innovation followers
• Rank 13 global, Rank 8 within the EU

4
Target 3 of GDP for RTDWhat Austria has
achieved and its target for 2010
35,5 publicly funded
64,5 privatly financed
Provided that the trend (recent growth rate of
RTD expenditures 8 in 2007) continues Austria
will reach the 3 target in 2012.
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The Austrian RDI Funding System IPolicy and
Agencies
Austrian Science Board
CDG, LBG, .
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The Austrian RDI Funding System II
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The Austrian RDI Funding System II Agencies
Austrian WirtschaftsservicesAWS
Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG
Science FundFWF
Business development (Innovation)
Basic Research
Applied Research Universityindustry cooperation
WeitereChristian Doppler Labors CDG, Ludwig
Boltzmanngesellschaft LBG,
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The Austrian Council

• The Austrian Council was established in September
  2000.
• It is an advisory body for the federal
  government, ministers and provincial governments
  in all issues related to RDI.
• It provides systematic, independent and sound
  advice for the design and implementation of a
  future-oriented RTD policy.
• The Council operates as the central hub of the
  widely spread network of the research and
  technology system.
• 2005 the Council published the Strategy 2010.
• Just recently it started a new process aiming at
  designing a long-term RTI-Strategy 2020 for
  Austria until mid 2009.

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Austrian Council Strategy 2010

• Objectives
• Placing Austria among the leading EU-members in
  RTD
• Strengthening of the competitiveness and dynamics
  of the Austrian economy
• Reaching the Barcelona targets
• Further improving the framework conditions for
  research and innovation in Austria
• Strategic orientation
• Fostering quality in all fields of research as
  the basis for reaching excellence at the top
• Improving the networking and cooperation between
  science and economy
• Increasing the effectiveness efficiency of the
  funding system

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The Austrian Councils Mission

• The Councils tasks are
• Setting up guidelines and giving recommendations
  for national research and technology programs and
  for promoting RTD institutions.
• Evaluating and monitoring the implementation of
  recommendations and the strategy.
• Making proposals for improving the co-operation
  between science and industry.
• Furthermore in 2001 the Council was asked to give
  advice on how extra-financial funds for RTD
  provided by the government (not Councils money!)
  should be allocated.
• 2001 2006 1109 mio. Euro
• Foundation for RTD 85 125 mio. Euro each year
  since 2004.

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Assessment and allocation

• The Austrian Council asked for
• standardized program descriptions and
• regular reports from the ministries.
• Scheme for the assessment of programs and
  initiatives
• Clear program description, objectives,
  indicators, target group / sector
• Evaluation concept (project selection process)
• Evaluation plan (program evaluation ex-ante,
  interim, ex-post)
• type of funding - instruments (project, network,
  institution, etc)
• Till 2006 the Council decided on the allocation
  of funding for programs and initiatives based on
  this assessment and on evaluations (if
  available).
• Several times the Council put conditions to
  implement.

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The Austrian Council and Evaluation

• Promotion of evaluation
• Asked for regular programme evaluation
  (evaluation plan!)
• Used evaluation as basis for public funding
  allocation
• Recommendations on evaluation in general (2003
  and 2006)
• Book Evaluation of Austrian Research and
  Technology Policies (2007)
• Member of a Platform Research Technology Policy
  Evaluation

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Evaluation of Austrian Research and Technology
Policies
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Evaluation of Austrian Research and Technology
Policies
Evaluations 1994 - 2006   120
2003 - 2006 62  
Evaluation of Institutions - Overview 17
Ex-Ante Evaluations 3
Mid Term and Real Time Evaluations 20
Ex-post Evaluations 10
Assessment, Policy, Fields Systems Evaluation 4
Writing about Evaluation 8
Before 2003 56  
www.fteval.at
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Evaluation at different levels

• Austrian Council recommendations (2003, 2006),
  book, evaluation day
• Platform Research Technology Policy Evaluation
  (platform fteval 20 institutional members)
  standards of evaluation, newsletter, book, web
  site, workshops / training
• Evaluation at level of
• Projects (agencies peer review, expert panels)
• Programms and institutions (ministries
  programme owners call for tender, contracts)
• Now portfolio / system evaluation (ministries)

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Evaluation where to go?

• Within the last years in Austria evaluation (of
  interventions) have shown strong development, yet
• There are still issues to work on
• Full transparency (publication), frequency of
  evaluation
• Comparability
• improving the use of evaluation as learning tool
• proper implementation of results and
  reccommendations
• effectiveness and efficiency of funding and of
  instruments
• A well-developed evaluation structure is a
  central component of a learning and strategically
  oriented research and technology policy !

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Austrian Council RTDI Strategy 2020 (mid 2009)

• Nov. 2007 Zukunftsdialog Innovation for
  Austria by Austrian Federal Chancellery
• Systemevaluierung by BMVIT (portfolio
  evaluation of governmental RTD Funding)
• Forschungsdialog (research dialog) by BMWF

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Contact

• Michaela C. Topolnik
• Austrian Council for
• Research and Technology Development
• Pestalozzigasse 4/ DG 1
• A 1010 Vienna
• Tel. [phone]
• m.topolnik_at_rat-fte.at
• www.rat-fte.at

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Austrian Council RTDI Strategy till 2009
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Statistics Austria RTD expenditures (survey
2004)
Quelle FE Statistik 2004
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Main areas of activity of RDI expenditures
Statistics Austria Survey 2004 basic research
17,8 applied research 37,8 experimental
development 45,2
source Statistics Austria 2004 RTD survey
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Unternehmerische Forschung
FE Quote 2004 2,23 des BIP FE Aufwendungen
5,2 Mrd. Euro
Quelle FE Statistik 2004
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akademische Forschung
FE Quote 2004 2,23 des BIP FE Aufwendungen
5,2 Mrd. Euro
Quelle FE Statistik 2004