全球智库信息集成服务系统

• Existing evidence shows significant returns from R&D investment, estimated to be in the region of 20–30%. Although the existing evidence provides a compelling case for the benefits that R&I can deliver, there are numerous benefits from R&I that are not well measured or, in many cases, not well understood. These include benefits to culture, public engagement, social cohesion and the environment, amongst others.
• Methodologically most evaluations of the benefits from R&I are dominated by a few methods, notably total factor productivity-based economic analyses, case studies, and portfolio-specific evaluations. We also note that the potential of some key datasets is not being realised.
• Economic analyses are a useful approach that can be used to measure and characterise the benefits of investment in R&I. However, many of the benefits from R&I are not easily monetised, and there are numerous benefits from R&I that are not yet well measured or, in some cases, fully understood.
• There is limited evidence on the distribution of impacts of R&I by region or population groups and over time.
• There are examples of novel practice in the literature, as well as useful and underutilised datasets both within and beyond the R&I space, which could help develop a more comprehensive, nuanced picture of the range of benefits of R&I in the UK.

The UK government has committed to increase research and development (R&D) spending to 2.4% of GDP by 2027, with a long-term goal of 3%. Existing evidence shows significant returns from R&D investment, estimated to be in the region of 20–30%. Although the existing evidence provides a compelling case for the benefits that research and innovation (R&I) can deliver, there are numerous benefits from R&I that are not well measured by economic approaches or, in many cases, not well understood. These include benefits to culture, public engagement, social cohesion and the environment, amongst others.

RAND Europe conducted an evidence synthesis to characterise the range and nature of benefits resulting from research, how these can be measured, gaps in the existing evidence and how they might be addressed. Our review and evidence synthesis found that economic analyses are a useful approach that can be used to measure and characterise some of the benefits of investment in R&I. However, many of the benefits from R&I are not easily monetised, and there are numerous benefits from R&I that are not yet well captured or fully understood. There is also limited evidence on the distribution of impacts of R&I by region or population groups and over time. There are examples of novel practice in the literature, as well as useful and underutilised datasets both within and beyond the R&I space, which could help develop a more comprehensive, nuanced picture of the range of benefits of R&I in the UK.

• Chapter One

  Introduction

• Chapter Two

  What are the benefits of R&I?

• Chapter Three

  Mapping existing evidence and methods for capturing the benefits of research and innovation

• Chapter Four

  Discussion and conclusions

• Appendix A

  Methods

• Appendix B

  Review of existing frameworks for assessing the benefits of R&I