Jordi Molas-Gallart

Assessing the non-academic impact of grant-funded socio-economic research: results from a pilot study.

The main problems faced by an impact assessment of this nature are summarised, and a methodological approach to them is presented. A description of the AIDS Programme and a study of its impact follows. The article concludes with an appraisal of the impact assessment methodologies used in the analysis. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Tracing ‘productive interactions’ to identify social impacts: an example from the social sciences

This paper applies the SIAMPI approach, which focuses on the concept of productive interactions, to the identification of the social impact of research in the social sciences. An extensive interview programme with researchers in a Welsh university research centre was conducted to identify the productive interactions and the perceived social impacts. The paper argues that an understanding of and focus on the processes of interaction between researchers and stakeholders provides an effective way to study social impact and to deal with the attribution problem common to the evaluation of the social impact of research. The SIAMPI approach thereby differentiates itself from other forms of impact assessment and evaluation methods. This approach is particularly well-suited to the social sciences, where research is typically only one component of complex social and political processes. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Which way to go? Defence technology and the diversity of 'dual-use' technology transfer

In recent years, ‘dual-use policies’ have become a widely promoted response to the problems faced by defence producers confronting the decline in defence expenditures, the continuing growth in the cost of new weapons systems, and the changing relationship between military and civilian technologies. A consensus has developed on the importance of dual-use policies, but no agreement seems apparent on what they are; such confusion derives from the variety of dual-use technologies, and the even broader array of mechanisms by which they can be transferred across military and civilian applications. By suggesting a typology of dual-use technology transfer mechanisms this paper provides a platform for the comparison and analysis of different dual-use policies. It identifies four main types of dual-use technology transfer mechanisms, all different in nature and purpose. The main difference is established between straight and adaptational mechanisms, depending on whether the technology transfer mechanism is concerned with adapting the technology to its new applications. Straight mechanisms do not require any change in the ways in which defence-oriented R&D and production is organised. In comparison, adaptational mechanisms are more ambitious policies and riskier, but may be a necessary answer to the structural problems faced by the industry.

FROM TECHNOLOGY GENERATION TO TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER : THE CONCEPT AND REALITY OF THE DUAL-USE TECHNOLOGY CENTRES

“Dual-Use policies” are one response to the challenges faced by defence research establishments and defence producers. This article traces the development of Dual-Use Technology Centres (DUTCs), a UK initiative to exploit the capabilities generated in defence research establishments by providing a channel for technology transfer. We find that a number of persistent tensions are creating problems under the current arrangements and conclude that there should be a clear separation within the research organisation of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), between offices concerned with managing research programmes conducted “extra-murally”, and MoD-owned facilities carrying out research.

Research governance and the role of evaluation: a comparative study

Through a comparative study of the United Kingdom and Spain, this article addresses the effect of different research governance structures on the functioning and uses of research evaluation. It distinguishes three main evaluation uses: distributive, improvement, and controlling. Research evaluation in the United Kingdom plays important distributive and improvement roles while the Spanish evaluation system plays, mainly, a controlling function and a minor distributive role. The differences that the article identifies should not be attributed to alleged different positions of the two countries in a putative research evaluation learning curve. Evaluation practice fits its national research governance structure.

Research evaluation and the assessment of public value

Funding organisations are increasingly asking academics to show evidence of the economic and social value generated by their research. These requests have often been associated with the emergence of a so-called ‘new social contract for research’ and are related to the implementation of new research evaluation systems. Although the research evaluation rhetoric is similar across countries and organisations, in practice evaluation can fulfil very different purposes. Additionally, the assessment of the public value of research poses different challenges depending on the academic field under analysis. This paper distinguishes three main research evaluation goals: to inform the distribution of public resources among competing objectives or performers, to help improve the implementation of policies and programmes, and to control the use of public funds. It then argues that assessing the value of research in the arts and humanities calls for a research methodology capable of providing a fine-grained understanding of the variety of, often diffuse, ways in which arts and humanities research can generate value. The methods that we need to do this are better suited to fulfil the improvement goal of evaluation, and require a ‘formative’ approach to evaluation supporting the social engagement of academic researchers.

Coping with Dual-Use: A Challenge for European Research Policy

No abstract available.

Country survey IX: Spain

From the early 1980s Spain embarked on a wide-ranging process of military reform, from organisational changes to defence industrial policies. Investment in military equipment was set to grow, policies were drawn up to foster the domestic defence industrial base, defence R&D rocketed, and Spain joined a myriad of international arms development programmes. Yet, by 1991 the process of reform had run out of steam. Expenditure planning proved unreliable, and firms suffered from sharp cutbacks in procurement expenditure. The model of defence industrial growth sketched in the mid-1980s had floundered. The Spanish case provides an example of how the quest to maximise defence procurement from domestic sources can fall victim to industrial and budgetary constraints. Spanish defence producers are now becoming increasingly intertwined with foreign defence companies.

Stakeholder Mapping as an Assessment Framework for Policy Implementation

In this article we develop a ‘Stakeholder Mapping’ approach to ex-ante policy evaluation. The proposed framework helps to assess policy implementation activities by applying several tests to evaluate the completeness, non-redundancy, proper assignment and internal consistency of a policy design. We illustrate the method by applying it to the analysis of e-commerce policy in Iran. We conclude by assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the approach.

Defence procurement as an industrial policy tool: The Spanish experience

The procurement of military systems may be used as a tool to achieve industrial objectives. Medium‐sized industrialised countries have the choice of procuring foreign systems on the best economic terms available, or instead using defence procurement as a tool to build up domestic industrial and technological capabilities. The Spanish experience illustrates the difficulties in moving from a procurement approach that only occasionally considered industrial policy issues, to procedures that systematically attempted to use defence procurement to support domestic industries. The problems that emerged suggest the limits to using defence procurement as an industrial policy tool, and provide an indication of the range of feasible objectives attainable by the defence procurement policies of a middle‐sized, industrialised country.