Assessing the socio-economic impacts of the framework programme (ASIF)

This study was undertaken in order to examine the socio-economic assessment of the impacts of the community Framework Programmes and to improve understanding of how such impacts might be designated, defined and measured. The rationale for the work lies in the mounting appreciation of the importance of research and technological development (RTD) for economic growth and the emergence of the knowledge-based economy. The study follows earlier actions to promote the assessment of socio-economic impact of the Framework Programmes and in particular the reflections of the ETAN group in 1999. The study was conceived both as a means of delivering a rigorous and defensible academic statement on the justifications for RTD support and best available means of its evaluation, and as a functional document which could give help to policy makers who were directly concerned with the delivery and evaluation of policy in the field of RTD. The study has four major parts: Justification of the role of RTD and its benefits through an examination of the academic and policy literature; An examination of the evaluation practice of the Framework Programmes and other relevant RTD activities with the aim of delivering lessons and suitable practical principles to which to apply to evaluation; Case studies chosen to exemplify approaches to evaluation; Observations about future evaluation strategy in the light of recent developments at the level of the European research system.