Evaluating Government Programs That Support Business Innovation: Framework and Principles

Governments all over the world are putting more emphasis on supporting innovation to ensure economic and social prosperity related to increased global competition and rapidly changing technologies, markets, and people’s expectations. Canada is doing the same, but its innovation performance is mid-class among developed countries. Proper evaluations of government programs supporting innovation represent a great opportunity for a better understanding of the issues involved in nurturing, developing, and exploiting innovation as a national resource for Canada. Evaluating Government Programs That Support Business Innovation proposes a comprehensive framework for managing and evaluating innovation support programs and outlines the principles for assessing such programs. The reportlooks at how proper evaluation data can be used to enhance program relevance, its effectiveness, and management efficiencies. Some examples of metrics for hybrid academic-industry innovation support programs—in terms of relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency—are provided in this report, as well as potential factors for success or failure and lists of recommended questions for surveys.