Survey methodology and procedures: General advice from Frascati Manual National Workshop on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Statistics Abu Dhabi, UAE 14 October 2012

Sources of this presentation Chapter 7 of the Frascati Manual - R&D Survey Methodology Section 8 of the Annex to the Frascati Manual (Measuring R&D in developing countries) - Strengthening R&D Statistical Systems Chapter 7 of UIS Technical Paper no. 5 (Measuring R&D in developing countries) - Strengthening R&D Statistical Systems

Institutionalization of STI statistics Political support Infrastructure and sustained staff training/capacity building Involvement of NSOs: Official statistics status for R&D surveys. Adequate legal framework

User-producer networks Recommendations: User-producer networks and other forms of stakeholder consultation should be instituted. Establishing national S&T statistics groups. Involve multiple actors. Coordinating/networking among institutions/databases. Partnering with business associations. Conducting face-to-face visits by statisticians and project leaders. Exploit pre-existing personnel ties. Get NSO involved; to deal with privacy of information. Training of interviewers/primary data producers.

General issues Statistics on R&D require regular, systematic and harmonised special surveys Other sources provide information, but: concepts of R&D used often different from FM concepts concepts may change over time very difficult to obtain all data for the same period difficult to avoid double counting when tracking flows from financial statements and other sources Estimates are a necessary supplement to surveys especially in higher education sector

Scope of R&D surveys R&D surveys should identify and measure all financial and personnel resources devoted to all R&D activities in all R&D units R&D surveys are mainly addressed to R&D- performing units Chapter 7 of the FM only addresses performer- based surveys Statistical methodologies and other procedures have to be established to capture all R&D, especially for units in the business enterprise sector with little R&D

Identifying target population and survey respondents – General issues Exhaustive survey not possible in most countries Constraints include: number of respondents may have to be restricted to keep costs down R&D survey may have to be taken in conjunction with another survey surveys of some groups may require the participation of other agencies with different data needs and hence different questions for respondents One size does not fit all: every country has different constraints – advice is therefore of general nature

Establishing registers R&D in developing countries tends to be very much the purview of public bodies Recommendations: Establishing a database of public sector R&D projects include human and financial resources; align with national policies. design could reflect the R&D statistical reporting/definitions. source for evaluation of such projects. Establishing Science and Technology Management Information System (STMIS) provide overview of research system. framework for establishing complete registers as sample frames for R&D surveys.

Science and Technology Management Information System (STMIS) and other secondary sources STMIS (e.g. database of scientists, research grants, CV databases, etc): frequent source for the production of R&D statistics. Recommendations: need close integration between the statistical system and the STMIS. need adjustments to produce comparable statistics, taking into account issues of definitions and coverage. need a balanced approach using both STMIS and surveys. need different approach to Private sector organizations as they are frequently not covered by these systems.

Establishing registers Other sources Associations (trade, academic). Learned societies. Registers or databases of scientists and engineers. Database of research grants. Databases of scientific publications. Patents and other IP documents. Business registers.

Survey procedure for each sector Each sector has different management styles, approaches and institutional culture. Consider the existing norms in relation to data exchange. First R&D Survey: through interviews rather than relying on telephonic, or postal survey. Higher cost and labour intensive. Who is the target of the survey? Need to consider the sector and the size and complexity of the organizations.

Government sector: Identifying target population and survey respondents Units to include in surveys are: R&D institutes: Public research institutes (PRIs); Department-based research institutions (DBRIs) R&D activities of general administrations of central or state government. Public institutions dealing with STS: statistical, meteorological, geological and other public services, museums, hospitals. R&D activities at the municipality level. Recommendation: the best way to survey is to send questionnaires to all units known or assumed to perform R&D.

Government sector cont.. Department-based research institutions (DBRIs) Director-General or Permanent Secretary Issues: non-availability of information in compiled form Public research institutes (PRIs) Chief Executive Officer or executive responsible for research management

Higher education sector: Identifying target population and survey respondents Recommendation: The surveys and estimation procedures should cover all universities and corresponding institutions, especially those awarding degrees at the doctorate level. Other institutions in the sector known or assumed to perform R&D should also be included. Identification generally easy. preferable to use smaller units, such as departments or institutes of the university, as statistical units.

Higher Education sector cont.. Higher Education institutes (HEIs) are the main seat of R&D activity Different degree of autonomy Staff employed as civil servant – list of employees is available Academics directly employed by HEI – staff details are protected Maturity of HEIs and historic relationships with Government Researcher CV database Publications databases (Web of Science or Scopus) If there is no central registry – approach through Vice Chancellor or Dean of Faculties, Dean of Research or, Head of Departments.

Business enterprise sector: Identifying target population and survey respondents The enterprise is recommended as the main statistical unit in the business enterprise sector Some enterprises perform R&D on a regular basis from year to year, and may have one or several R&D units Other enterprises perform R&D only occasionally It is recommended that all enterprises performing R&D, either continuously or occasionally, should be included in R&D surveys.

Business enterprise sector: Survey population – first possible approach 1.A census-based survey of large enterprises and a sample of smaller ones in order to identify R&D performers and request the information from them R&D performed in the past in the enterprise is not considered this is the approach followed in innovation surveys very small enterprises and enterprises in certain less R&D-intensive industries often excluded for cost reasons when the sample size is very small, estimates may be less reliable, owing to raising factors Method not strictly followed in any country

Business enterprise sector: Survey population – second possible approach 2.Try to survey all enterprises known or assumed to perform R&D, based on a register of R&D- performing enterprises lists of enterprises receiving government grants and contracts for R&D lists of enterprises reporting R&D activities in previous R&D surveys, in innovation surveys or other enterprise surveys directories of R&D laboratories members of industrial research associations employers of very highly qualified personnel lists of enterprises claiming tax deductions for R&D.

Business enterprise sector: Survey population – joint approach Recommendation To include in R&D surveys of the business enterprise sector all firms known or supposed to perform R&D. To identify R&D performers not known or supposed to perform R&D by a census/sample of all other firms: In the industries on the next slide. In principle, enterprises in all size classes should be included, but if a cut-off point is necessary, it should be at ten employees.

Business enterprise sector: Industries to be included IndustryISIC Rev. 3/NACE Rev. 1 Mining14 Manufacturing15-37 Utilities, construction40,41,45 Wholesale50 Transport, storage and communication60-64 Financial intermediation65-67 Computer and related activities72 R&D services73 Architectural, engineering and other technical activities 742 Plus any other industry relevant for the country

Business sectorcont… R&D performed in business sector remains low in many developing and emerging economies. How to detect R&D activity in Business? trade associations, or chambers of commerce. businesses listed on the main stock exchange. large firms/MNC - discussion with the Chief Financial Officer or Chief Technology Officer. missing a large firm might result in significant error. exclude holding companies, construction, retail, and utilities as sub- sectors likely to perform little or no R&D. list of business beneficiaries of research or innovation grants by NRC. cooperation with the departments responsible for R&D tax incentives.

Business enterprise sector: Structural issues Publicly-owned businesses play a major role in R&D in some developing countries Recommendations: should consider issuing data for publicly-owned businesses separately from the fully private enterprise sector. private enterprises could also be disaggregated by ownership, in particular the various degrees of foreign ownership.

Business enterprise sector: Structural issuescont.. Business enterprise R&D is presumed to be generally weak in developing countries when compared to industrial countries. Recommendations: take into account when conducting sample surveys, perhaps by over-sampling, especially amongst larger companies. big companies should not be missed out as it might imply significant error. invest time in interviewing key firms to understand their R&D function and obtain a clear picture of their activity.

Private non-profit sector: Identifying target population and survey Private non-profit (PNP) sector: make a significant contribution to R&D in developing countries, but the sector tends to be very volatile Same challenges as in business – difficulty in identify PNPs engaged in R&D Not clear about, status; ownership. Engaged in wide range of activities. Perform in-house R&D as well as contract R&D.

Private non-profit sector cont.. The sources for identifying possible survey respondents are mainly the same as for the government sector. Register information may be less comprehensive and could be completed by information from researchers or research administrations. This sector may be more relevant for surveys on R&D funding.

Who is the right respondent? R&D Manager Better understanding of R&D and FM norms But may not be able to supply exact figures Accountant or personnel manager May not refer exactly to R&D as defined in FM But able to supply exact figures Cooperation of all three may be needed Useful to identify in advance the person responsible for providing information and for co-ordinating information from smaller sub-units

Working with respondents Questionnaire: simple and short, logical and with clear definitions and instructions Optional: simpler survey for smaller units Test questionnaires on a sample of respondents

Survey procedure and estimation Recommendations: Attention needs to be paid to questionnaire design. Frequency of survey. Prioritize area of work; accompanied by step-by-step approach. Use of survey questionnaires of other countries for inspiration: need adaptations to local situation. Get expertise from the NSO, in conducting survey, in sampling.. Different questionnaires might be designed for different sectors based on stakeholder consultations. One size does not fit all. Procedures need to be developed for estimating missing data.

Encouraging co-operation Secure co-operation of respondent Make them appreciate the potential uses of the data Respect confidential data Minimise the response burden Share the results (option: customised information) Provide technical assistance and contact details

Estimations R&D measurement could be done in three stages: Identification of all specialised R&D units and measurement of their total activity. Estimates of the non-R&D portions of their activity and subtraction of these estimates from the total. Estimates of the inputs used for R&D in other units and addition of these estimates to the total.

Operational criteria Tools for translating theoretical FM concepts into practical questionnaire: Explanatory notes Hypothetical examples Guidance to individual respondents Documentation on treatment of different cases Covered in FM To be covered by data collection agency keeping good documentation is essential

Estimation procedures Imputation methods for item non-response Use previous answer Hot decking (use info from same survey) Cold decking (use info from previous survey) Imputation methods for unit non-response Use past R&D data (adjusted for sales or employment growth) Impute as a function of the relation to personnel or sales (test with non-response analysis)

Thank you!