Evaluating governmental support to automotive research and development (R&D): A Swedish case

Journal article, 2012

One objective of evaluating governmental R & D investments is to learn from the past and improve future activities. This paper discusses R & D evaluation methods using empirical data covering more than 15 years of publicly (co-)funded automotive R & D in Sweden, with a particular focus on public-private R & D partnerships. One contribution of the paper is that it illustrates the need to add a systemic level to the programme and project level in traditional R & D evaluation methods. Further, it argues for diversity in public R & D funding in terms of instruments used and in the selection of actors, activities and technologies to be sponsored. This diversity is threatened in the Swedish automotive context, as the public-private R & D partnership programmes (which give priorities to the industrial actors in the agreement) appear to crowd out other types of public R & D investments.