Evaluation of ST&I programs: a methodological approach to the Brazilian Small Business Program and some comparisons with the SBIR program

Evaluation of research results and impacts is a topic of growing interest to public and private organizations worldwide. Indeed, it can be said that evaluation initiatives are a top priority for many R&D institutions if they are to assure social legitimation. Assuming that the innovation process is uncertain, complex, linked to social and technical imponderables, and capable of taking a different course from what is planned, the goals of evaluation almost always become moving targets. The objective of this article is twofold: a) to present a methodological proposal for the evaluation of STR&I programs, particularly to allow multidimensional approaches in order to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of STR&I programs; and b) to present an application of this methodology to a Brazilian public program that aims to foster the emergence of innovative small firms, and compare it with some findings for a similar US program. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.