Evaluation of RT&D: from ‘prescriptions for justifying’ to ‘user-oriented guidance for learning’

The measurement and evaluation of research, technology and development (RT&D) has gone through phases over the past 50 years. Over time, high-level measures such as total expenditures on R&D, overall citations and patent production have given way to more contextualized metrics recognizing the inherent differences in innovation subject areas and the need to show mission achievement. This article shows how recently proposed Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) metrics were adapted to help frame a case study conducted by the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute (CCSRI). Early results suggest that the framework provides a useful structure to display both a hierarchy of results focused on mission goals, and to build an attributable RT&D and innovation story over time. With this work and other recent developments, evaluation appears poised to go beyond retrospective justification and to become a fully legitimate part of strategic learning for RT&D initiatives. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.