Allocation of R&D Equipment Expenditure Based on Organisation Discipline Profiles

Autor/inn/en	Wells, Xanthe E.; Foster, Nigel; Finch, Adam; Elsum, Ian
Titel	Allocation of R&D Equipment Expenditure Based on Organisation Discipline Profiles
Quelle	In: Journal of Research Administration, 48 (2017) 2, S.93-110 (18 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1539-1590
Schlagwörter	Resource Allocation; Research and Development; Equipment; Expenditures; Foreign Countries; Profiles; Benchmarking; Intellectual Disciplines; Scientific Research; Public Agencies; Australia; United States + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ressourcenallokation; Forschung und Entwicklung; Ausgaben; Ausland; Charakterisierung; Profilanalyse; Geisteswissenschaften; Öffentliche Einrichtung; Australien; USA
Abstract	Sufficient and state-of-the-art research equipment is one component required to maintain the research competitiveness of a R&D organisation. This paper describes an approach to inform more optimal allocation of equipment expenditure levels in a large and diverse R&D organisation, such as CSIRO. CSIRO is Australia's national science agency, is comprised of individual research units and conducts R&D across many disciplines. CSIRO's research equipment expenditure allocations have been to some extent based on both previous years' expenditures and current operating performance. In an effort to refine this process, a method was developed to consider the difference in expenditure profiles across research areas and calculate a benchmark (or expected level) for research units within CSIRO. The approach also allowed CSIRO to compare its actual equipment expenditure levels to benchmark (or expected) levels derived from expenditure data from US academic institutions. This comparison found that CSIRO's overall level of expenditure was below the benchmark levels and assisted in guiding the allocation of available funds more fairly across research units with different equipment needs. Several datasets were used for this analysis. R&D equipment expenditure patterns across disciplines are available for USA academic institutions and the differences in levels between disciplines was calculated. For example, in the Biological Sciences equipment expenditure is 3% of total R&D expenditure, whereas in Physics it is 3-fold greater. Using research publication subject classifications, discipline profiles were constructed for the entire CSIRO and each of its units. Publication subject categories were also mapped to the research fields used by the USA source. These datasets were combined to determine an overall benchmark value for CSIRO and each unit. The value varied by a factor of 2.2 fold across individual CSIRO units. Actual equipment expenditure for CSIRO was determined using internal finance records. This was compared to the benchmark levels and some units were below the calculated benchmark values and a few were close to or above. The results of this study were considered by CSIRO managers when deciding equipment expenditure allocations and the implications of the findings for the organisation are discussed. Furthermore, it was found that there are very few studies on research equipment expenditure readily available and it is hoped that this study will encourage further discussion and research on this topic. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Society of Research Administrators International. 500 North Washington Street Suite 300, Falls Church, VA 22046. Tel: 703-741-0140; Fax: 703-741-0142; e-mail: membership@srainternational.org; Web site: http://www.srainternational.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01