Measuring the Effects of Research on Innovation EXCELLENT

WHAT IS STAR METRICS?

STAR METRICS - Science and Technology for America's Reinvestment: Measuring the Effect of Research on Innovation, Competitiveness and Science, is a multi-agency venture led by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

The STAR METRICS project is a partnership between science agencies and research institutions to document the outcomes of science investments to the public. The benefits of STAR METRICS are that a common empirical infrastructure will be available to all recipients of federal funding and science agencies to quickly respond to State, Congressional and OMB requests. It is critical that this effort takes a bottom up approach that is domain specific, generalizable and replicable.

"It is essential to document with solid evidence the returns our Nation is obtaining from its investment in research and development. STAR METRICS is an important element of doing just that."

- John P. Holdren
Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and
Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
June 1, 2010.

See Press Release (pdf) May 28, 2010.

Participants may join Phase I at any time however they must be engaged in Phase I to participate in Phase II. For more information about how to join STAR METRICS, please go to the Participation Guide. A brief description of the two phases of the STAR METRICS project is as follows:

Phase I: Developing uniform, auditable and standardized measures of the impact of science spending (ARRA and non-ARRA) on job creation, using data from research institutions’ existing database records. No personally identifiable information (PII) is collected in Phase I.
Phase II: Developing measures of the impact of federal science investment on scientific knowledge (using metrics such as publications and citations), social outcomes (e.g. health outcomes measures and environmental impact factors), workforce outcomes (e.g. student mobility and employment), and economic growth (e.g. tracing patents, new company start-ups and other measures). Data elements that will be collected in Phase II will be collectively determined in consultation with Institutions that have joined Phase I.
STAR METRICS