Japanese-style evaluation systems for R&D projects: The MITI experience

Abstract

This article examines some of the key features of Japanese evaluation systems utilized in evaluating R&D policies. The distinctive features of the system are that Japan depends upon in-house self-assessment combined with close cooperation and consensus-seeking behavior with the government and its advisory bodies. This system is markedly different from those predominant in countries where R&D policies are evaluated separately, independent from the sphere of decision-making. The system described here is subjective rather than objective in that the direct promoters of R&D plans were directly included in the evaluation activities. The system has evolved gradually in the course of Japanese technological development, and has been influenced also by Japan's particular internal and external environment. The system appears to have worked well in areas where research programs were modified to obtain incremental improvement or to create new types of R&D programs. However, recent constraints caused by budget deficits, together with the shift from applied to more basic research, have required a new type of evaluation system for Japan's R&D policy.