The Recent Practice of Evaluation of Government-sponsored Research Institutes(GRIs) in Korea : From Retrospective to Forward-looking perspective

이공계 정부출연(연) 기관평가모형개발 및 적용사례 연구

The interest in the evaluation of government-sponsored research institutes (GRIs) has increased markedly in Korea in 1990s; this is mainly because of the increasing needs 1) to improve the quality of R&D at GRIs, and 2) to reorient the GRIs' strategic position in Korean national innovation systems due to the enhancement of R&D capabilities of private companies and universities during last decade. As a first attempt to diagnose the managerial and strategic issues of GRIs, a Multi-Ministerial Evaluation Committee was established as an ad hoc task force under the Prime Minister's Office in 1991. According to the recommendations of the committee, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) to which most of GRIs were affiliated, made it a rule to evaluate the annual performance of GRIs since 1992. This paper examines the recent experience of MOST's evaluation of Government-sponsored Research Institute in Korea. After several years'efforts of Science & Technology Policy Institute(STEPI) to build prospective evaluation systenL MOST decided to apply two supplementary approaches for the evaluation of GRIs; one is summative annual evaluation and the other is formative 3-year evaluation. The annual evaluation system that is designed as a temporary measure is to monitor and to guide the self-evaluation activities of GRIs. In the process of annual evaluation, MOST tries to minimize its direct involvement, and allows each GRI to develop self-evaluation system that is most appropriate for the unique characteristics of the institute. If there exist urgent issues under scrutiny, however, it can be incorporated and examined by a group of external experts as special issues in the annual evaluation system. The aim of 3-year evaluation is both to examine the past performance of each GRI and to investigate whether the strategic role of each GRI is viable in the future. Its major focus, however, lies not on auditing past performance but on strengthening future strategic position of each GRI. The MOST designates a group of evaluation experts with appropriate knowledge and competence as members of the General Evaluation Committee for one year. With the help of STEPI, a specialized research institute for R&D evaluation, the General Evaluation Committee develops methodology and procedures for the actual evaluation of GRIs. Based on the evaluation reports and recommendations from the General Evaluation Committee, the MOST develops various policy measures for strengthening GRIs.