A Study on the R&D Performance of Government-funded Research Institutions According to the Change in the Performance Evaluation System in South Korea

Since 2014, the evaluation system for government-funded research institutions (G-FRIs) has undergone significant reforms aiming to improve the quality and utilisation of performance outcomes. The performance evaluation system for national R&D projects has also been enhanced to encourage the active dissemination of research outputs. The present study aims to analyse the relationship between the changes in the performance evaluation system and the main research and development outcomes of these institutions, while considering the period before and after these systemic improvements. This study analyses whether the improvement of the evaluation system and performance indicators over the past decade (2011–2020) has had a significant impact on scientific and technological achievements, economic performance, and diffusion of achievements. The research results revealed that there was a decrease in overall scientific and technological outcomes, particularly in the number of patents granted, following the improvements made to the performance evaluation system. However, it was also observed that certain aspects of performance dissemination showed significant positive effects as a result of the evaluation system improvement. Specifically, the analysis indicated that there were significant impacts on technology transfer rates relative to Article publication and patents, suggesting that the evaluation system improvement had positive effects in some aspects of performance dissemination indicators.