Evaluation Methods in Preliminary Feasibility Analysis of R&D Programs

Evaluation is a key process in planning and implementing R&D programs. Evaluation is also performed for the purpose of allocating limited resources to R&D programs. At the national S&T planning stage, various evaluation methodologies are used to identify the best technology alternatives or develop S&T policy. For the newly proposed R&D programs, preliminary feasibility studies are performed to decide budget using multi-criteria decision making approach. The purpose of a preliminary feasibility study is to verify the feasibility of large public R&D programs through technical, economic and policy analysis. The system was introduced in 1999 for large scale SOC projects by the Ministry of Planning and Budget (MPB), and the target boundary of the feasibility study has been broadened to the R&D programs beginning 2006. The analysis has been performed for technical feasibility, economic merit, and policy implication. Preliminary feasibility studies employed AHP on the results of the three analyses. For the purpose of setting up a preliminary feasibility study system, we developed ´General Guidelines for Preliminary Feasibility Studies´. The guideline includes general procedures and methodologies for analysis. Standard guidelines for preliminary feasibility study for each R&D program category are also developed and applied to various R&D programs.