University R&D performance evaluation: the case of the National University of Mexico

For higher education institutions and research centres, the division of basic from applied R&D has helped when generating indicators for, say, allocating resources. However, this division is losing its value, partly because of its problems with the non-economic aspects of research. Institutions like the National University of Mexico (UNAM) now consider technology development to be a legitimate activity for them. Yet neither UNAM nor the Mexican S&T policy institutions have done enough to clarify these activities, or to legitimate them and counterbalance them with ‘purer’ research. This paper reports a study done in UNAM on its experiences and practices in evaluating R&D. It uses interviews and local and international literature. It attempts to define and clarify for UNAM: interactions between research and the resulting developments; the different types of technology development activities; alternatives and recommendations to evaluate UNAM's academic R&D oriented to innovation.