The Public Sector R&D Enterprise: A New Approach to Portfolio Valuation (Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy)

The US government spends $30 billion per year on applied, non-defense research and development in fields like energy, health, transportation, agriculture, and the environment. Effective management of this investment is a prerequisite not only to addressing challenges like climate change and economic prosperity, but also to the wise stewardship of taxpayer money. The Public Sector R&D Enterprise combines a primer on how government R&D programs actually work with a sophisticated methodology for prospectively putting a dollar figure on the value of R&D investments before they are made. Using an integrated framework, this primer offers students and practitioners alike an accessible entry point to what can be a very complex R&D enterprise. The author presents and proves the feasibility of a new valuation methodology that allows program administrators to prospectively estimate the likely returns and potential risks of potential investments in R&D.