Mission heterogeneity and performance of public research organizations

Abstract Public research organizations (PROs) face growing pressures to demonstrate utility, user relevance, and industry connections. To this end, it is important to analyse their performance using indicators that capture the full breadth of their activities. This paper discusses how PROs engage in a variety of activities aligned with their missions and proposes implications for performance measurement. First, based on a scoping review of the literature on PROs’ performance, we find that studies focus on measuring effectiveness, efficiency, and impact using a narrow range of indicators that do not accurately reflect PROs’ breadth of activities and mission heterogeneity. Second, drawing on public data and 20 semi-structured interviews with 16 PROs in the UK, using qualitative content analysis and descriptive statistics, we find that PROs’ activities extend beyond those captured by the typical indicators used in the literature and that PROs with different missions specialize in different activities.