Old and new paradigms in the measurement of R&D

Various countries have been collecting R&D data for more than 30 years on the basis of the OECD ‘Frascati Manual’ which sets forth a harmonised methodology for collecting, compiling and analysing the data. At this stage we need to come back again to some basic issues for two reasons: first, data collected through the innovation surveys carried out in several countries have shown that the number of R&D-performing firms is higher than that emerging from the R&D surveys; secondly, studies on the generation and distribution of knowledge show that the concept of ‘full-time equivalent’ for measuring the quantity and quality of work done by professionals engaged in R&D is less and less tenable. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.