Marine Ecosystems Research Department - jamstec japan agency ...

Japan Marine Science and Technology Center
Research Evaluation
standing and support of society and the nation as a
whole; () JAMSTEC will deploy its limited resources
effectively to improve organizational efficiency and
economic efficiency of R&D projects; and () JAM-
STEC staff will be conscious of the social relevance of
their work, and plan R&D with clearly defined objectives
and anticipated results. To achieve this, JAM-
STEC began the necessary examinations for introducing
R&D cost effectiveness and quantitative evaluation.
For this, we set up an internal examination group
making up the members engaged in the research, and
established an examination committee consisting of
intellectuals and others from outside JAMSTEC. We
also held an international workshop on research effect
analysis, and exchanged views on approaches used
overseas.
(1) Examination committee of intellectuals
Since there was no precedent of an examination of
cost effectiveness and quantitative evaluation methods
at an R&D institution, and no organization has specifically
studied the methodology for this, we established
an examination committee, and for its members, we
chose intellectual members of the community with an
expertise in evaluation of policy, universities, and
R&D companies. The committee, comprising five
members chaired by Professor Hirasawa of the
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (Table
) and invited observers from related corporations,
met four times.
The committee's examination focused primarily on
the research evaluation matrix, and reflected the discussions
held by the internal examination group indicated
below.
(2) Internal examination group
When examining R&D effect and evaluation, there
is a need to ensure there is not too great a burden
placed on researchers, and the results must be fed back
into the R&D effectively, so we set up an internal
examination group mainly consisting of researchers in
various R&D fields. The group, chaired by the
Director of the Planning Department, and comprising
eleven members made up of staff in the Research
Evaluation Promotion Office and researchers from the
frontier research systems and other research departments,
met four times.
(3) Research effect analysis workshop report
On February and , JAMSTEC held a
workshop in the Miyoshi Memorial Hall, Yokohama
Institute for Earth Sciences to examine the kind of
effect research carried out by JAMSTEC has on society.
A total of people were invited to take part in the
workshop, including members of such institutions as
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), which had already undertaken a similar
study.
Presentations were given by two members of NOAA,
three members of International Research Institute for
Climate Prediction (IRI), and from Japan, one member
of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
(IGES), one member of the Institute of Physical and
Chemical Research, three members of the Frontier
Research System for Global Change, and two members
of JAMSTEC, and were followed by lively discussions
and the free exchange of ideas and opinions.
In its report on its study of the effect El Niño prediction
has on agriculture, NOAA estimated that for
every dollar spent on research (research costs etc.), a
return of $.–$. was achieved through a reduction
of damage to agriculture, so the effect was quite
significant. Meanwhile, IRI undertakes climate prediction
using numerical simulation, and from this forecasts
floods and drought, and the outbreak of dengue
fever and the like caused by mosquito infestation, then
works closely with local communities to prevent or
minimize the disaster.
Such studies or activities have rarely, if ever, been
undertaken in Japan, but the workshop and its report
have provided a key pointer for future activities by
JAMSTEC.
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