Research and experimental development (R&D): Research and experimental development (R&D) comprise creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge –including knowledge of humankind, culture and society – and to devise new applications of available knowledge.
Establishment: An establishment is an enterprise, or part of an enterprise, that is situated in a single location and in which only a single productive activity is carried out or in which the principal productive activity accounts for most of the value added. Establishments are sometimes referred to as local kind-of activity units (local KAU s)
Types of R&D: Three types of R&D are considered and defined in the Frascati Manual: basic research, applied research and experimental development.
Basic research: Basic research is experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundations of phenomena and observable facts, without any particular application or use in view.
Applied research: Applied research is original investigation undertaken in order to acquire new knowledge. It is, however, directed primarily towards a specific, practical aim or objective.
Experimental development: Experimental development is systematic work, drawing on knowledge gained from research and practical experience and producing additional knowledge, which is directed to producing new products or processes or to improving existing products or processes.
R&D personnel: R&D personnel in a statistical unit include all persons engaged directly in R&D, whether employed by the statistical unit or external contributors fully integrated into the statistical unit’s R&D activities, as well as those providing direct services for the R&D activities (such as R&D managers, administrators, technicians and clerical staff). See also internal R&D personnel and external R&D personnel.
Researchers: Researchers are professionals engaged in the conception or creation of new knowledge. They conduct research and improve or develop concepts, theories, models, techniques instrumentation, software or operational methods.
Technicians and equivalent staff: Technicians and equivalent staff are persons whose main tasks require technical knowledge and experience in one or more fields of engineering, the physical and life sciences, or the social sciences, humanities and the arts. They participate in R&D by performing scientific and technical tasks involving the application of concepts, operational methods and the use of research equipment, normally under the supervision of researchers.
Other supporting staff: Other supporting staff include skilled and unskilled craftsmen, and administrative, secretarial and clerical staff participating in R&D projects or directly associated with such projects.
Headcount (HC): The headcount (HC) of R&D personnel is defined as the total number of individuals contributing to intramural R&D, at the level of a statistical unit or at an aggregate level, during a specific reference period (usually a calendar year).
Full-time equivalent (FTE): Full-time equivalent (FTE) of R&D personnel is defined as the ratio of working hours actually spent on R&D during a specific reference period (usually a calendar year) divided by the total number of hours conventionally worked in the same period by an individual or by a group.
Types of costs of R&D: Types of costs of R&D include individual current and capital cost categories for intramural R&D. Types of current costs include labour costs for internal R&D personnel and other current costs (for external R&D personnel, purchases of services, purchases of materials, and other costs not elsewhere classified. Types of capital costs include land and buildings, machinery and equipment, capitalised computer software and other intellectual property products.
Current R&D expenditures: Current R&D expenditures are composed of labour costs and other current costs (including for external R&D personnel) used in R&D. Services and items (including equipment) used and consumed within one year are current expenditures. Annual fees or rents for the use of fixed assets should be included in current expenditures.
Labour costs: Labour costs, or compensation of employed personnel, comprise annual wages and salaries and all associated costs or fringe benefits, such as bonus payments, stock options, holiday pay, contributions to pension funds. In Frascati manual, the concept of labour costs also includes other social security payments and payroll taxes.
Other current costs: Other current costs comprise non-capital purchases of materials, supplies, equipment and services to support R&D performed by the statistical unit in the reference year. Examples are water and fuel (including gas and electricity); books, journals, reference materials, subscriptions to libraries, scientific societies, etc.; imputed or actual costs of small prototypes or models made outside the statistical unit; and materials for laboratories (e.g. chemicals, animals, etc.). Other current costs include royalties or licences for the use of patents and other intellectual property rights, the lease of capital goods (machinery and equipment, etc.) and the rental of buildings to support R&D performed by the statistical unit in the reference year.
Capital R&D expenditures: Capital R&D expenditures are the annual gross amount paid for the acquisition of fixed assets that are used repeatedly or continuously in the performance of R&D for more than one year. They should be reported in full for the period when they took place, whether acquired or developed in house, and should not be registered as an element of depreciation. The most relevant types of assets used for R&D for which capital R&D expenditures should be compiled are:
- land and buildings
- machinery and equipment
- capitalised computer software
- other intellectual property products.