Methodologies for the analysis of research funding and expenditure: from input to positioning indicators

This paper discusses the status of indicators concerning research funding and expenditure and proposes some pathways for further developments. First, I discuss in depth the design of the R&D statistics based on the Frascati manual and its limitations concerning analytical categories, data availability and quality. Further I argue that, to answer to specific policy questions concerning the allocation of funds, the development of a new generation of indicators is needed — so-called positioning indicators — focusing on the analysis of financial fluxes between research funders, intermediaries and performers, and I present some recent results of comparative European work in this direction. Finally, I draw some general methodological lessons on the nature of these indicators and on the procedure for their production, discussing key aspects such as reproducibility, quality validation, simplicity, contingency and transparency. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.