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This paper aims to shed light on the linkage between research and development (R&D) networks and public funding presented in a given period by using network-based evaluation tools as a means of exploring the relational dimension in public projects designed to foster technology R&D activities.

This research uses co-occurrence network analysis of relevant public projects to assess how technological associations might occur within the R&D activities of given publicly funded projects as well as conducts correlation analysis to understand the extent to which linkages of R&D activity in technology fields are related to public expenditure.

Core technology fields, regarded as eligible to receive continued public funding, are critical for enhancing competitiveness and sustainable growth at the nationally strategic technology level. Thus, the relationship between R&D and the level of government funding for these fields is generally perceived as strong. However, a few technology fields, which did not actively form specific network relationships with other technology fields, are considered to exceptionally drive the largest government support. This trend indicates that the government-funded R&D should be designed and managed not only to curb the inefficiencies existing in the current funding programs but also to achieve the appropriateness for further technology development.

Despite the comprehensive findings, this study has several limitations. First, it is difficult to control any confounding factors, such as the determinants and constraints of the government budget allocation and expenditure decisions over S&T areas, strategic frameworks for public investment and evolving policy landscapes in technology sectors, which lead to bias in the study results. Second, this study is based on a narrow, single-year data set of a specific field of projects supported by the Korean government’s R&D program. Therefore, the generalization of findings may be limited. The authors assumed that influences caused by confounding variables during the initial phase of the public funding schemes would not be significant, but they did not take into account possible factors that might arise coincident with the subsequent phase changes. As such, the issue of confounding variables needs to be carefully considered in research design to provide alternative explanations for the results that have been ruled out. The limitations of this study, therefore, could be overcome by comparing the outcome difference between subsidized and non-subsidized R&D projects or evaluating targeted funding schemes or tax incentives that support and promote various areas of R&D with sufficiently large, evidence-based data sets. Also, future research must identify and analyze the R&D activities concerning public support programs performed in other countries associated with strategic priorities to provide more profound insight into how they differ. Third, there are some drawbacks to using these principal investigators-provided classification codes, such as subjectivity, inaccuracy and non-representation. These limitations may be addressed by using content-based representations of the projects rather than using pre-defined codes. Finally, the role that government investment in R&D has played in developing new science and manufacturing technologies of materials and components through network relationships could be better examined using longitudinal analysis. Furthermore, the findings suggest the need for further research to integrate econometric models of performance outcomes such as input–output relations into the network analysis for analyzing the flow of resources and activities between R&D sectors in a national economy. Therefore, future research would be helpful in developing a methodological strategy that could analyze temporal trends in the identification of the effects of public funding on the performance of R&D activity and demand.

Public funding schemes and their intended R&D relationships still depend on a framework to generate the right circumstances for leading and promoting coordinated R&D activities while strengthening research capacity to enhance the competitiveness of technologies. Each technology field has a relatively important role in R&D development that should be effectively managed and supervised to accomplish its intended goals of R&D budgeting. Thus, when designing and managing R&D funding schemes and strategy-driven R&D relations, potential benefits and costs of using resources from each technology field should be defined and measured. In this regard, government-funded R&D activities should be designed to develop or accommodate a coordinated program evaluation, to be able to examine the extent to which public funding is achieving its objectives of fostering R&D networks, balancing the purpose of government funding against the needs of researchers and technology sectors. In this sense, the examination of public R&D relations provides a platform for discussion of relational network structures characterizing R&D activities, the strategic direction and priorities for budget allocation of the R&D projects. It also indicates the methodological basis for addressing the impact of public funding for R&D activities on the overall performance of technology fields.

The value of this work lies in a preliminary exploratory analysis that provides a high-level snapshot of the areas of metallurgy, polymers/chemistry/fibers and ceramics, funded by the Korean Government in 2016 to promote technological competitiveness by encouraging industries to maintain and expand their competencies.

The purpose of the study is to review and understand firm selection mechanism involved in government venture capital (GVC) funding and identify key factors influencing selection of tech-based firms for GVC funding.

This paper is based on real-time methodology. The data was generated from interviews of 60 young applicants, who applied for startup funding, and analyzed using statistical techniques to draw the results.

This review identifies financial viability, market viability and technological innovation to have the strongest predictive ability in firm selection process of the GVC funding program for tech-based youth-owned startups in the first round of interview. This review also highlighted that social impact is not a statistically significant variable in firm selection process in GVC funding.

This study tests the validity of the theory of GVC based on quantitative analysis of field data and identifies key factors with strong predictive abilities for GVC funding, more particularly for the youth-owned tech-based startups. This study brings to light the mechanism adopted for GVC funding and addresses gaps in the literature relevant to firm selection mechanism in GVC programs. This study would help GVC Fund Managers to review their own GVC programs in terms of selection mechanism and help them in appropriate designing of such programs.

Many empirical studies have focused on whether public funding leverages (crowds in) or discourages (crowds out) private giving behavior, finding mixed results. Recent studies suggest the need to examine how nonprofits adjust their fundraising efforts after experiencing cuts or increases in government funding, which can then influence donor behavior.

In this study, the authors conduct an online survey experiment with nonprofit managers to test how nonprofits respond to changes in government funding.

The authors find some evidence that nonprofit organizations would change their fundraising expenses when facing cuts in government funding, yet the authors also find that the change could be either to increase or decrease fundraising spending. Since decisions are made by executive directors, the study also considered how executive personality type as maximizers or satisficers may interact with institutional and environmental constraints in decision-making. When funding goals are met, executives tend to behave as “satisficers” and are unlikely to make significant changes, even when their individual personality is more consistent with being a “maximizer.”

The authors find these results to be the reflection of the current environment in which many nonprofits operate, characterized by pressures to keep operating costs low. The results of the experiment have implications for both funding agencies and nonprofits that strive to enhance the capacity of nonprofit services.

This study is the first attempt to untangle the multilayered relationships between government funding, fundraising, leader preferences and personalities, and donations using an experimental approach with current nonprofit leaders.

This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of government funding schemes for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.

The survey method of inquiry was adopted, wherein a structured questionnaire was used to generate data. Using Guilford and Flruchter (1973) formula, a sample size of 276 was derived from a population of 890 registered SMEs. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 20.0 tools.

The results of the analysis reveal that a significant number of SMEs were aware of government funding schemes, but insignificant number succeeded in accessing the funds. It further reveals that the nature and conditionality of the funds and management capacity of SMEs were major hindrances to the effectiveness of the funding schemes.

The inquiry is completely original and has the potency of influencing policy formulation and implementation in the area of industrial funding.

In response to recent public library funding deficiencies, many people both inside and outside the field of librarianship have suggested that public libraries need to rely less on traditional government funding and more on alternative funding sources. This chapter reports the results of a review of the research and professional literature relating to government and alternative funding for US public libraries and presents a case study of the West Chester (PA) Public Library, which relies heavily on non-tax funds for its operations. It concludes with an analysis of the major arguments for and against alternative funding for public libraries and a consideration of the implications for public librarianship in the United States.

This paper aims to investigate funding and performance monitoring practices in Zambia’s health sector from an institutional and stratified ontology perspective. Such an approach was deemed appropriate in view of pluralistic institutional environments characterising most African economies that are also considered to be highly stratified.

Blended with insights from stratified ontology, the paper draws on institutional pluralism as a theoretical lens to understand the institutional structures, mechanisms, events and experiences encountered by actors operating at different levels of Zambia’s health sector. The study adopted an interpretive approach that helped to investigate the multifaceted and subjective nature of social phenomena and practices being studied. Data were collected from both archival sources and interviews with key stakeholders operating within Zambia’s health sector.

The study’s findings indicate the high levels of stratification within Zambia’s health sector as evidenced by the three sector levels that possessed different characteristics in terms of actor responses to donor influence. This study equally demonstrates the capacity of agents operating under highly fragmented institutional environments to engage in enabling and constraining responses depending on the understanding of their empirical world.

Through blending insights from stratified ontology with institutional pluralism, the study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the enabling and constraining reflexive capacity of agents to exercise choices under highly fragmented institutional environments while responding to multiple demands and expectations to sustain the co-existence of diverse stakeholders. Accordingly, the study advances thinking on the application of institutional theory to critical accounting research in line with recent ontological and epistemological shifts in institutional theory.

For individuals and organizations who seek grant money, this guide details major information resources useful to identifying sources of financial sponsorship. It covers grants made by government agencies, by private foundations, and by business and industrial concerns, and should be of interest to persons seeking financial support for organizational or community projects, or individual scholarly endeavors. Excluded from this guide are general materials that review the history of charitable giving, or the role of philanthropy in society, as well as information sources devoted exclusively to scholarships and loans for undergraduate education.

The nature of early care and education (ECE) programs in the United States, serving children from birth through age eight, has shifted dramatically in the last 20 years. With his 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama positioned ECE at the top of his educational reform agenda. His acknowledgment of the importance of the early years in providing a foundation for children’s lifelong learning and the critical need for national reform is welcoming to those of us in the field; yet, we meet it with some trepidation. ECE has a history of fragmented services for children and families, relying primarily on inconsistent state funds. Additionally, the pressure to be more competitive with our global counterparts has led to an academic push down at all levels of education, including ECE, rather than an increase in support for schools to meet the diverse needs of young children. The President’s proposed initiative further contributes to this pressure on our youngest children, their families, and their ECE caregivers.

In this chapter, we examine the current state of the ECE field, with an emphasis on the years prior to kindergarten.

We analyze two federal ECE initiatives, and argue for a return to the original purposes of ECE that best serve young children and families.

This research paper seeks to examine the important issues of performance measurement and reporting in a third sector community organisation. It aims to highlight the dysfunctional nature of funding body performance reporting criteria, which do not always align with the values and goals of the voluntary organisation. In contrast, this paper aims to consider the value of using anecdotal performance data to provide a more informed perspective on the performance of third sector organisations.

The paper examines the current literature regarding performance measurement from a voluntary sector perspective. It then considers the value and efficacy of anecdotal performance reporting and presents empirical findings from a single case study organisation.

The paper identifies that many forms of performance reporting frameworks used by funding bodies provide little or no value to the voluntary organisation, and that anecdotal performance reporting is often more aligned with the values of the voluntary organisation. This paper proposes that whilst anecdotal performance reporting is not common place, it has an inherent value to both a third sector organisation, and funding body, as it allows the organisation's achievements to be presented in a more empathic light. The paper concludes that anecdotal performance reporting is particularly appropriate where the funding body is of a philanthropic, rather than government or state nature.

This research was conducted from the perspective of one voluntary sector organisation, therefore providing limited generalizability.

With little research undertaken on the value of anecdotal performance reporting in this environment, this paper highlights a potential new area of performance measurement. This research is set within a New Zealand context, adding to the originality.

This paper discusses the services and support from one of the government design-based business incubators in Hong Kong. The characteristics of a design business incubator are explained, and a multiple-case study indicates the perspectives of incubatees from different design disciplines after their graduation from the incubation programme.

The research under discussion in this paper was based on eight design incubatees in different design disciplines within two years of incubation period, all of whom had participated in one of the government-funded business incubation programmes for designers in Hong Kong. The programme is unique because there are no other government-based incubation programmes for designers in Hong Kong. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect feedback from incubatees in areas ranging from terms of service to support of the incubation programme.

The services of training, mentorship and finance were found to be the most important to design start-ups. Financial support and flexible funding allocation were another important issue for design incubatees, but training in these subject areas was not included in the incubation programme. However, it was confirmed that funding provided may have helped a number of the incubatees in developing their start-up businesses as a result of the reduced financial burden and office allocation.

The research focused on one incubation programme because of the lack of incubation programmes for designers in Hong Kong, therefore future research which compares different types of business incubation programmes is suggested.

The outcomes of the research not only identified the possible areas of development and improvement of business incubation in entrepreneurship but they will also be useful for the government, universities, institutions, designers, policy makers, entrepreneurs and practitioners. These, in addition to industry stakeholders who want to evaluate their entrepreneurship programmes and develop their plans for potential development in incubation- or entrepreneurial-related programmes or training, especially in the area of design, will find the results useful.