Special Articles

National R&D Planning Strategy and Budgeting System in Korea

Byengmu Park

Abstract

Proposed increases to the Korean government’s R&D budget should be discussed based on the merits of meeting efficiency and effectiveness criteria. The evaluation of the national R&D budget and related programs are performed in two areas: a system of R&D budget coordination and allocation, and a system of R&D program performance. This paper mainly focuses on the operational areas of the R&D budget evaluation system with a focus on their impact on effi ciency and effectiveness. The core view point for a R&D budget evaluation system involves two directions: Firstly, to detail the relationships between the activities in the latter stage (ex. post) such as program surveys, analyses, and program performance evaluations, with the budget evaluation. Secondly, to oversee all R&D coordination and procedures a different perspective. Budgeting is generally known as a serial process of policy making, planning and executing. It is highly desirable for the budget to be allocated to, and spent by, specific programs as planned, and that each plan is aligned with a specifi c policy. As such, a strong relevance between the program structure and budget code system is integral to successful execution. It should be performed using a decisionmaking system that closely examines the link between policy and budget. It is also recommended that systematic relationships be maintained among budget coordination and allocation, performance evaluations of policy and program levels, and the program survey and analysis system, and that furthermore, their operational schedule should be reviewed comprehensively as one integrated system. The National Science and Technology Council is expected to play a major and practical role as the center of policy planning and should be supported by an objective and unbiased system which covers the overall process from policy making to program evaluation. Finally, increased utilization of contents, timely program survey and analysis, accurate scheduling of budget coordination and allocation, as well as diligent program performance evaluation, all contribute towards a more effi cient and effective overall evaluation system.