Integrated Evaluation Model Strengthening Effective Management of Strategic Research Programmes

In order to ensure the high level of competitiveness of the national economy, many initiatives are undertaken, among which strategic research programmes can be distinguished. Strategic research programmes are characterised by a great number of levels (e.g. levels of research projects, project groups, thematic groups, and strategic research programme as a whole), a multitude of objectives and a high budget; therefore, it is necessary to systematically evaluate them. The paper concerns an integrated evaluation model within which factual, financial and organisational aspects are taken into account. The model is dedicated to strategic research programmes in the area of technical solutions and can be implemented at their different levels. The authors present the concept and the structure of the model and focus particular attention to the crucial components used to create a model. This includes the integrated evaluation methodology, the inclusion of standard methods (e.g. interviews, document analysis or workshops), which can be used in the assessment of any individual research projects, and above all, the non-standard methods supporting a complex assessment of technical solutions with the implementation maturity, the commercial potential and the innovativeness taken into consideration. Selected procedures enhancing the evaluation process are also shown. Moreover, differences between the proposed model and the models identified in publications and the original features of the model are indicated. The designed model can be applied at different moments of the realisation of a programme (before the start - ex-ante, during the realisation on-going, at the end of the realisation - ex-post and some years after the termination of the programme - follow-up). Therefore, the model offers different procedures and actions to be taken during each phase of the evaluation process and allows simulations that can indicate what needs to be done for the efficiency of a strategic programme to be ensured. These procedures are supported by the design of possible essential questions, criteria, methods, indicators and tools, whose application seems to be useful from the point of view of the evaluation process. Out of these procedures, particular attention is paid to the research method supporting the assessment of the commercial potential of technical solutions developed in strategic research programmes.