Definiowanie i pomiar wartości w projektach badawczo-rozwojowych
Defining and Measuring Value in Research and Development Projects

Summary/Abstract: The article explores the challenge of defining and measuring value in research and development projects, which absorb significant public and private funding. The authors argue that effective project management in R&D should go beyond traditional time-budget-scope approaches and instead should incorporate value-oriented and metric-based methodologies which have proven successful in business projects. The main research objective is to assess the feasibility of applying such practices to academic R&D project management. Two exploratory studies were conducted. The first involved interviews with project managers, revealing no systematic use of value-oriented metrics, particularly in relation to qualitative aspects such as communication and team dynamics. The other study, still in progress, focuses on identifying key values relevant to researchers and developing corresponding metrics. Five R&D projects were selected for experimental implementation of customised metric systems. Thirty different metrics were developed to capture material (compensation, funding) as well as non-material (professional development, satisfaction, social impact) values. Preliminary findings reveal considerable challenges: limited understanding of project management principles among researchers, difficulty in operationalising abstract values, and resistance to formalised metric-based evaluation. Many respondents expressed uncertainty when asked to assess their progress or project value, highlighting a gap between academic practice and managerial expectations. The authors conclude that promoting even simple, context-sensitive metrics could significantly enhance transparency, efficiency and learning in R&D project teams. However, successful implementation requires cultural change, tailored communication and careful adaptation to the unique characteristics of academic work. The article calls for further research into how value-based project management can be meaningfully integrated into the university R&D environment.

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