Some of the topics discussed during the workshop included the assessment of the impact of research on growth and innovation; the exchange of data between nations in order to facilitate comparisons; value creation through research collaboration platforms and networks; and science indicators and R&D methodological models.
Speaking about the outcome of the workshop, Mr. Bill Valdez, Director, Office Planning and Analysis, Office of Science, US Department of Energy said: "This workshop has made it clear that the US and EU share a common goal when it comes to the evaluation of science and technology programmes, demonstrating that the taxpayer's investment is paying off in terms of new products and services that improve their lives. As a result of this workshop, US and EU evaluators have set a strong foundation for future cooperation. We will work together to ensure that the benefits of R&D investments to national economies and societies are understood by everyone."
On the European side, Mrs. Birgit de Boissezon, Head of the Planning, Programming and Evaluation Unit, DG Research, EC, affirmed that "What we are seeing in this event is a network of networks emerging.
WREN, the European Research Evaluation Network and colleagues from Japan, Korea, Canada and New Zealand came together in an inspiring and useful exchange of common challenges, experiences and possible solutions to performance assessment of research programmes.
The true success of this event should be measured by its sustainability and capacity to bring about lasting impact."
Mr. Theo Karapiperis, Secretariat of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy in the European Parliament, declared that: "The workshop has shown that the EU and US research evaluators can learn a lot from the complementarily of their approaches and methods. Research evaluation has reached a level of maturity which calls for more quantification and standardization, coupled with the necessary open-mindedness and flexibility towards an evolving reality. The continued interaction with the US evaluation community can act as an inventive for the EU side to move more effectively towards these goals."
From the Asian perspective, Prof. Heung-Deug Hong, Kangwon National University, Korea, stated that "This workshop has been really useful in terms of networking with the relevant parties on research evaluation. Moreover, it has served as a platform for exchange of views based on practical experience from experts in the field." Mr. Yongsoo Hwang, Research Fellow at the Science & Technology Policy Institute, added that Korea would like to cooperate with the US and EU Research evaluation and that; if possible, they would like to host the next workshop in Korea.
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Further information about the conference, can be found at:
http://www.science.doe.gov/sc-5/wren/index.html.