Prioritization of the portfolio of R & D projects by means of Data Envelopment Analysis

The objective of this work is the analysis of the literature on the use of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in the prioritization of portfolios of R & D projects in its initial phase. This model helps decision-makers choose between projects with better results in the future, given scarce resources. The ordering of the model in terms of efficiency makes it possible to adequately finance the better projects. The methodology used is the review of specific works in the electronic databases ProQuest, ScienceDirect, Scopus and Google Scholar. The sample contains 31 papers that evaluate R & D projects with a DEA model and describe the characteristics of the case study. The descriptive statistical study of the data collected allows us to study the behavior of the year of publication, journals, methods, applied DEA models and software. The results indicate that the most suitable model to obtain a ranking of the R & D projects is a CCR-oriented DEA, oriented to the inputs and, moreover, that the most representative variables are cost, people, hours and technical difficulty. On the part of the outputs are: direct economic, technological, indirect economic and scientific contributions.