Performance Management at R&D Organizations: Practices and Metrics from Case Examples
Performance management supports and enables achievement of an organization and/or program's strategic objectives. It connects activities to stakeholder and mission needs. Effective performance management focuses an organization or program to achieve optimal value from the resources that are allocated to achieving its objectives. It can be used to communicate management efficiencies and to show transparency of goal alignment and resource targeting, output effectiveness, and overall value of agency outcomes or progress toward those outcomes.
This paper investigates performance management from the perspective of research and development (R&D) organizations and programs. R&D organizations face unique performance management challenges, including difficulty in measuring performance, lack of timely data, and the many unknowns associated with R&D efforts including lack of clarity of the initial scope of many projects. The study team researched performance management for R&D organizations in the commercial and government sectors. The paper provides insight into performance management as it relates to R&D, science and technology (S&T), and intelligence communities. It examines practices of commercial and government R&D organizations and programs and presents eleven case studies, including five from commercial industry and six from government. Organizations are increasingly using both quantitative and qualitative measures to manage performance and improve sustainable value. The paper provides example metrics used by commercial and government R&D organizations and programs. Many view R&D as an essential means to achieving increased knowledge and innovation to provide a competitive advantage. Government organizations should choose a suite of performance metrics consistent with their specific missions and goals.
Performance management that is properly implemented with management support and active employee involvement is a powerful tool for the enterprise. Internally, it cultivates a holistic, long-term view of the organization. It helps an enterprise stay focused on attributes of success and failure to achieve the organization's goals and deliver meaningful results. Externally, it communicates management efficiencies, transparency of goal alignment and resource targeting, output effectiveness, and overall value of agency outcomes or progress toward those outcomes. R&D organizations should be allowed flexibility to design and implement a performance management process aligned with their mission, goals, and objectives that can be systematically implemented with management support and active employee involvement to convey the true value of performance to the enterprise.
