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the Analysis and Technology Development Center
Policy Brief: Between Macroeconomic Cost Assessment and a Systemic Analysis of Added Value
How can public funding for innovation be evaluated without focusing solely on the amount spent, the number of projects supported or whether formal programme targets have been met? This question is becoming increasingly urgent amid intensifying technological competition, rapid digital transformation and the need to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness.
Łukasiewicz – ITECH has published a new policy brief Between Macroeconomic Cost Assessment and a Systemic Analysis of Added Value: Models for Evaluating Public Innovation Funding in the European Union and Poland .
The publication was authored by Kamil Bromski, PhD, Dawid Romek, PhD Sc. Eng. from the Analysis and Technology Development Center
The brief examines current approaches to evaluating public innovation funding and the commercialisation of R&D across the European Union. It also considers their implications for Poland’s innovation policy under the 2021–2027 financial framework and ahead of the next EU programming period.
From Tracking Expenditure to Assessing Added Value
Innovation policy is no longer viewed simply as a mechanism for funding research and development. Increasingly, it is seen as a strategic tool for driving economic, technological and geopolitical transformation.
Against this backdrop, the central question is whether public support leads to lasting change: whether it strengthens companies’ ability to commercialise technology, builds organisational capabilities, deepens cooperation between research and business, and improves the resilience of the innovation system as a whole.
The OECD and European Commission: Two Approaches to Evaluation
The policy brief compares two leading European and international approaches to innovation policy evaluation: the OECD framework and the European Commission’s model developed under the Better Regulation agenda.
Both approaches move beyond traditional assessments based solely on fund absorption, project numbers or overall R&D expenditure. Instead, they place greater emphasis on net impact, behavioural additionality, the long-term sustainability of outcomes, and the capacity of innovation systems to learn and adapt.
What Does This Mean for Poland?
The authors argue that the future of innovation policy in Poland and across Europe will depend not only on the level of funding available, but above all on institutional quality, effective coordination between public instruments and the ability to build strong, lasting innovation ecosystems.
This calls for evaluation frameworks that combine economic, systemic and institutional analysis. Only such an approach can move beyond the question of how much was spent and assess what new capabilities, expertise and lasting public value were created as a result.
Policy brief pokazuje, że nowoczesna ewaluacja polityki innowacyjnej powinna być narzędziem strategicznego uczenia się państwa – wspierającym bardziej adaptacyjne, oparte na wiedzy i skuteczne zarządzanie publiczne.
The full text of the policy brief is available below.