Abstract:
Investment in Research and Development (R&D) is scrutinised where funding
is limited such as in developing counties. There is therefore an increased
emphasis on benefit and impact assessment tools and systems for such
R&D programmes. In sectors like roads and transport, deliverables from
R&D could include new materials and equipment. However, it usually, and
more often, delivers novel design methods, new techniques and models
for enhancing transport system performance and free software for use by
professionals in the industry. The nature of these “soft” deliverables complicates
the measurement of the performance of R&D in roads and transport.
The South African Roads Agency Ltd SOC (SANRAL) developed a Balanced
Score Card (BSC) with associated indicators that can be used to monitor
the performance of its research programme across the full innovation value chain. This article aims to review the indicator set by assessing its balance in
terms of SANRAL’s systems-based R&D model, by evaluating it against the
SANRAL strategic objectives and through a survey among 175 stakeholders
and researchers. It was found that the indicator set is well balanced and
addresses all aspects of the innovation value chain.
