12 / 10 / 2022
EARTO New Study on RTOs Impact: IDEA Consult Review of Impact Assessment Studies of RTOs
This new EARTO review study, commissioned to IDEA Consult, aims at providing an overview of the existing methodologies of impact assessment as well as of the existing evidence and dimensions of impact created by RTOs throughout Europe. The study gives the state-of-the-play, and eventual gaps, regarding methodologies to assess RTOs’ impact in the future.
This study showcases the role of RTOs in bringing technological development and innovation to industry, and the economic impact achieved through this, are still considered a primary objective. Yet it also shows that the societal role of RTOs has become increasingly important in recent years.
More generally, all studies conducted point at a range of positive effects both in the economic and societal dimension and contributed to ‘opening the black box’ which existed in the academic literature on the effects of government R&D spending on the macroeconomy. The evidence from the studies surveyed give an insight in the impact pathways and in the ways a euro funding for an RTO ‘ripples through’ the client companies and further to the rest of the economy. Furthermore, adding the societal impact dimension to impact assessment studies or evaluations, gives a more complete insight on what RTOs do (beyond R&D) and allows to make this role more explicit.
EARTO remains at the disposal of the EU Institutions and Member States to further discuss the main outcomes and lessons learned presented in this study. EARTO thanks IDEA Consult and its WG Impact Experts who contributed to the making of this report.
- Read the full EARTO – IDEA Review of Impact Assessment Studies of RTOs
