The OMB recently adopted relevance, quality, and performance as their investment criteria in Federal research and development. The criteria were established to conform to the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) and to reflect the inherent challenge of measuring research and development outcomes. R&D investment criteria are designed to help improve R&D program management, funding decisions, and public understanding of the potential benefits of investing in Federal research and development. The OMB expects agency R&D managers to demonstrate the extent to which their programs meet the following three tests:
Relevance. R&D programs must be able to articulate
why this investment is important, relevant, and
appropriate. Programs must have well conceived plans that identify program goals
and priorities and identify linkages to national and customer needs.
Quality. R&D programs must justify
how funds will be allocated to ensure quality R&D.
Programs allocating funds through means other than a competitive, merit-based
process must justify these exceptions and document how they maintain
quality.
Performance. R&D programs must be able to monitor and document how well this investment is performing. Program managers must define appropriate outcome measures and milestones that can be used to track progress toward goals, and assess whether to increase or redirect funding. Descriptions of performance should not, however, be limited only to quantitative measures.
(The above discussion is edited from the
USDOT.)