An Overview of R&D Budgeting in Korea
Symposium on International Comparison of
the Budget Cycle in Research Development
and Innovation Policies
Madrid, 3-4 July 2008
Dong Hoon Oh
dong-hoon.oh@oecd.org
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Science and Innovation Profile for Korea (2006)
Korea
Average
3.23
GERD as % of GDP
16.83
HRST occupations as % of total
employment
BERD as % of GDP
Science & Engineering degrees as % of all
new degrees
2.49
Venture capital as % GDP
0.22
37.80
Researchers per thousand total
employment
Triadic patents per million population
8.65
58.40
% of GERD financed by abroad
Scientific articles per million population
0.30
4.60
287.28
Patents with foreign co-inventors
AAGR patents 1995-2005
Business funded R&D in HE & GOV
Share of services in business R&D
25.57
7.23
9.07
Source: OECD, Science and Technology Outlook 2008 (to be published)
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A General Policy Cycle
Ex-post
• Impact assessment
• Various perspectives
• Legitimisation of taxpayer’s money
Foresight
TRM
Monitoring
• During life span
• Good programme management
• Active or passive
• Responsibility
TA
Evaluation & Selection
• Which criteria?
• “Right” evaluation in order to fund
the “right” programmes & projects
Ex-ante
• Strategic objectives
• Framework of implementation
• Potential fulfilment of the objectives
Bargaining
Process
Feedback
Policy rationale
and objectives
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“Plan-Do-See” of S&T
S&T Level &
Trend Analysis
Technology
Assessment
National Standard
S&T Classification
S&T Foresight
& Roadmap
S&T Indicators &
Statistical Analysis
R&D Investment &
Program Analysis
National R&D
Priority Setting
National R&D
Master Plan(5 years)
Ministry Action Plan
(yearly basis)
National R&D Budget
Allocation
R&D Program
Implementation
Program Monitoring
(yearly basis)
Program Performance
Evaluation
4
Three Pillars for Overall Coordination
Survey &
Analysis
Korea R&D Integrated
Management System
(Database)
Program
Evaluation
Budget
Review &
Allocation
National R&D Strategy
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R&D Budgeting Process since 2004
R&D Budget
Allocation
Evaluation
Budget
Appropriation
Draft on Major Activities
for the Coming Year
A Master Plan for Evaluation of
National R&D Programs
(Ministries → MPB, End of Feb.)
(NSTC → Ministries, Previous Nov.)
Analysis & Evaluation of
National R&D Programs
R&D Budget Ceiling
(NSTC, March∼April)
(NSTC Secretariat, Feb∼May)
(MPB → Ministries, End of April)
Budget Request
(Ministries → MPB, End of May)
Analysis Results
Evaluation Results
Budget Guidance & Ceiling
Budget Review & Allocation
(NSTC, June∼Early July)
Approval of Results of
R&D Budget Review & Allocation
(NSTC, July)
Confirmation of Budget Request
(MPB, June∼July)
Budget Appropriation
(MPB, August∼September)
Results of R&D Budget Review & Allocation
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Nature of the Korean Overall Coordination

Overall coordination (evaluation and budgeting)
of R&D in Korea could be identified as follows:
– Viewpoint: national perspective
– Actors: central government (supported by agencies)
– Level: program level
– Type: functional + thematic
– Frequency: short-term (annual)
– Nature of process: top-down/expert-based/formalised
– Result: evaluation report, budget plans and allocations
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Issues






The changing context
– Emphasis on performance and accountability
– Progress of international benchmarking
– Development of methodologies
– Requirements for greater transparency
– Development of communication technology
How to link/combine macro level priorities and program level
funding in the budget process?
How to harmonise socioeconomic and technological priorities?
How to manage effectively the conflicts of interest in budget
process?
What opportunities do the new technologies/methodologies offer
for improving budget process?
Can we identify a set of key principles for a high-quality
budgeting? If possible, What are they?
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You are invited to discuss and comment
on this presentation
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