Evaluation Framework

Individually, Research and Development Corporations (RDCs) use a range of evaluation approaches to report value to stakeholders and to provide recommendations and guidelines for ongoing and future investment. In 2007 the RDCs agreed to work together to measure and report on the overall return on R&D investment.

The Council of Rural Research and Development Corporations’ Chairs (CRRDCC) prepared the evaluation framework, methodology and approach for this work. These were reviewed by key economic agencies of the Australian Government including the:

• Treasury
• Department of Finance and Deregulation
• Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry
• Productivity Commission
• Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics.

Following agreement being reached on the framework the 15 RDCs engaged independent economic consultants to undertake the first phase of evaluations. The results for the first round were released in November 2008. For more information, please see the CRRDCC Summary of the Evaluation Report.

FRDC have now (16 June 2010) completed BCA’s on 18 R&D subprograms comprising over 200 projects which will deliver a total R&D portfolio assessment. This analysis will provide data for which the FRDC and its partners can optimise future investment decisions based on an adaptive management approach.

FRDC Portfolio Assessment

An economic evaluation of a statistical sample of 18 randomly selected clusters of FRDC investment across three programs has found that the average return to FRDC investment is 5.6 to 1.

FRDC has now completed a portfolio (18 of 32 clusters) wide assessment of its research and development activities. Research projects completed or substantially completed between July 2002 and June 2007 were assessed, and this population was divided into 32 clusters of investment by grouping projects into homogenous subject areas. It was from these 32 clusters that the 18 clusters analysed were randomly selected. The total value of FRDC funding for this population was $92.76 million (nominal). The FRDC investment in the eighteen clusters analysed totalled $51.63 million therefore represented 56% of FRDC’s total investment (in nominal terms) in the population. The 18 report from each assessment can be accessed from the list below.

The summary report provides the detail and summation of the total portfolio assessment. The BCA Summary Report 29 July 2010 can be accessed here.

Benefit Cost Analysis

• An Economic Analysis of Investment in Assessing Proposed Marine Protected Areas (Round One Assessment - Hero Project)
• Development of Manufactured Feeds for Southern Bluefin Tuna
• Development Larval and Hatchery Production of Striped Trumpeter
• Assessment and Management of Chemical Residues in Baitfish and Southern Bluefin Tuna

 2010