Articles

Ex-ante Evaluation System of Government R&D Programs in Korea

Hyun-Kyu Kang

Abstract

Since 2008, the Korean government has employed the preliminary feasibility study (PFS), an ex-ante evaluation, to enhance the efficiency of fiscal management in large-scale government research and development (R&D) programs and to determine whether to invest in each R&D program. Most PFS results are directly reflected in budget formulations, making the PFS an important step in budgetary decisions. The PFS has been developed and improved as a comprehensive evaluation system of R&D program proposals in terms of technology, policy and economics. Over the past 10 years, 66.2% of R&D programs and 37.4% of program budgets have passed the PFS. The PFS has contributed to enhanced fiscal efficiency in public investment by preventing non-feasible programs from being launched. This paper explains the framework, methodologies, results, and issues of the PFS on R&D programs in Korea.