, Enrique Ares Goméz

This study introduces an on-going research project aimed at analyzing the impact of R&D projects both from the public and private points of view. From the public perspective the social impacts and objectives of these projects, frequently supported by National or European R&D programmes, should be underlined and properly considered in the evaluation process. On the other hand, the private perspective emphasizes mainly financial and strategic returns for the companies involved in research projects. This paper addresses part of the research conducted so far, focusing in particular on the private perspective, namely on the identification of the more appropriate methods for the evaluation of research and development (R&D) investments projects by companies. Several studies indicate that the use of traditional financial methods is not the most appropriate for evaluating R&D projects (see, for example, Chan, 2001, Proctor and Canada, 1992, and Mensah and Miranti, 1989). The use of these methods consists, basically, on discounting the expected future cash flows and the adoption of several methods for measuring its financial viability (e.g. NPV, IRR). This implies that the costs and benefits associated with the investment are easily and objectively quantified. Nevertheless this is not always possible for all types of investments, particularly in the Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT), in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), or in projects of R&D. For these type of investments, the estimation of financial flows and th