This report presents the results of an international review of how the governments of five countries in North America and Europe procure and manage research to improve service delivery and policy development. The paper

• describes how research and development is commissioned, managed and used in a number of different countries. The countries used for the comparison are Canada, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States.
  
• provides a basis for examining the research and development activities of the UK within an international context and for learning if and how innovative elements from other countries may be incorporated into or modified to suit the UK research and development model.

The key findings from the international review are:

• There is no uniform approach to determine research priorities and to set research strategies. However, there seems to be increased awareness and activity to make these strategies and priorities a more integral part of policymaking.
• There is growing emphasis on evaluating the policy outcomes of research and development expenditure.
  
• There is widespread acknowledgement that some research and development expenditure is high risk and will bring no short-term return, but that it is essential for long-term development.
  
• There are some innovative examples of how research users are incorporated into the research process, with the aim of increasing research utilisation.

The Executive Summary also reviews the significant similarities and differences in research and development practices among the selected countries and between the countries and the UK. First, investment in research and development is summarised, then priority setting and coordinating processes are compared, followed by selecting and commissioning practices and, finally, evaluation and research transfer are examined. The remainder of the report presents detailed information about the context of research and development activities in the five selected countries and describes the different and innovative approaches to research selection, procurement, implementation, management, evaluation and transfer in each.

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