Data-driven analysis on the performance evaluation of national R&D projects in Korea

Research and development (R&D) is a crucial competency in both developing and developed countries. As a result, evaluating the performance of R&D programs has become a significant research topic for academic and governmental researchers. This study aims to investigate the impact of various factors, such as the characteristics of national R&D projects, research stages, technology types, and management institutions, on their performance. Specifically, we focus on identifying key factors that influence the efficiency of national R&D investments in South Korea. To achieve this, we compiled a dataset of 98,224 government-funded R&D projects conducted between 2016 and 2019. The dataset includes information on project characteristics (research stage, technology types, and management institutions) as well as outcomes (patent applications, patent registrations, publications, royalties, and sales). Through factorial Kruskal-Wallis tests, we found that the research stage and technology type significantly affected the project outcomes, while the research stage did not significantly influence royalty and sales amounts. Additionally, our analysis of South Korean research management institutions revealed variations in their overall performance, suggesting differences in management capabilities among institutions. Based on these findings, we provide insights into setting appropriate research goals for each project, considering their unique characteristics. Finally, we discuss the implications and limitations of this study.