The MLE’s Thematic Report “Combining Mixed Approaches to Evaluation” addresses the topic of applying mixed method approaches to the evaluation of public schemes to support R&D and innovation in firms, specifically business R&D grants and associated innovation schemes. It sets out the broad context for the use of mixed-method approaches in the evaluation of innovation support schemes, with a focus on business R&D grants. The report focuses on a number of major issues which were addressed in the third site visit to London and illustrates these with selected examples, and presents a number of the major lessons learned during the site visit concerning programme and evaluation design.
The Thematic Report on “Capturing Behavioural Change” addresses the topic of understanding and measuring the behavioural change in firms through these schemes and challenges to capture these. According to the report, it is essential that the community of STI scholars, STI evaluators and STI policy-makers acknowledge more fully the importance of measuring and capturing behavioural change through R&D and innovation schemes.
