The performance indicators for science and technology projects in Taiwan

Abstract

To help the Taiwanese private sector to compete globally, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) in Taiwan initiated a programme called the 'Science and Technology Project (STP)' in 1982. Through this programme, the government offers over 10 billion NT dollars per year to support technological research and development. Furthermore, the STP is executed by statutory bodies (non-profit research institutes) funded by the MOEA. For the purposes of budget allocation and control, an annual performance evaluation of STP is needed, though it is a difficult task. Although the MOEA has established a system of performance evaluation and has practised it for years, there is no consensus on the fairness of this system among research institutes and other interested parties competing for funds. A more elegant evaluation system is needed. The purpose of this research is to establish a reliable system of performance indicators for the STP. Our study reviewed the whole performance indicators system of R&D projects and proposed a feasible revision. The system of performance indicators can be further divided into three subsystems: (1) indicators for research results, (2) indicators for industrial co-operation, (3) indicators for technology diffusion.