# Efficiency of Public R&D Management Agency and Its Improvement toward Open Innovation
## 1 Introduction  
As the budget for national R&D projects recently increased to KRW 24.2 trillion (as of 2020), the functions and roles of public R&D management agencies (hereinafter \"R&D management agencies\") have been recognized as more important. The Korean government under President [PERSON] raised the need for efficient and systematic support for R&D management agencies in the \"National R&D Innovation Act\" [1]. The laws and systems related to R&D management agencies are as follows. First, according to Article 23 (1) of the Act, the Minister of Science and ICT may conduct a fact-finding surveys and analysis of the designation and operation of a R&D management agency. Second, In Article 23 (2) of the Act, the Minister of Science and ICT may demand the designation or cancellation of the designation of a R&D management agency, improvement of its operational efficiency, etc. Third, a R&D management agency is a body designated by a central administrative organization to be entrusted with planning, evaluation, and management of R&D projects in accordance with Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the \"National R&D Innovation Act\" [1]. Meanwhile, there are currently 17 agencies under 13 ministries that manage national R&D projects, but a consistent management system related to planning, evaluation, and management is insufficient. As of 2020, R&D management agencies were carrying out planning, evaluation, and management of major R&D projects worth about KRW 8.5 trillion, and the ratio of the planning and evaluation costs to the total project cost was 3.1%. Nevertheless, support should be strengthened for R&D management agencies to be equipped with capabilities as a professional R&D project management agency and to act as a bridge between ministries and researchers. However, it is also true that problems of insufficient transparency and efficiency concerning management of planning and evaluation costs are constantly being pointed out. Specifically, the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea is demanding R&D management agencies to improve operational efficiency through active implementationof fact-finding surveys [2]. [PERSON] et al. (2013) [3] pointed out that there is a problem in that ministries arbitrarily apply the rate set in the budgeting process due to the lack of accounting standards for planning, evaluation and management of national R&D projects. Accordingly, there is always the possibility that the problem of under- or over-regulating the planning and evaluation management costs will occur, and from the point of view of R&D management agencies, inefficiencies may occur because the institution's operating costs cannot be reliably guaranteed. [PERSON] et al. (2015) [4] stated that when planning and evaluation expenses are supported at a uniform ratio of the government subsidy budget, the characteristics of the institution are not reflected, which may cause difficulties in operation and a decrease in the quality of overall research management. Problems commonly raised in the preceding studies include under-/over-setting and lowering of operational efficiency as the planning and evaluation cost is determined irrespective of the cost structure. Existing research content presents problems based on budget and expenditure information for each R&D management agency prior to 2017. This study intends to analyze the current status and problems related to planning and evaluation costs in more detail from the perspective of efficiency based on 2020 data. Meanwhile, from the viewpoint of R&D productivity, the concepts of R&D effectiveness and R&D efficiency are important. In Korea, the efficiency of output compared to input is important when selecting public R&D projects. In addition, the effects of achieving the research purpose are usually judged qualitatively, and autonomy is given to the research institution as much as possible. Accordingly, this study will focus on the efficiency of public R&D management agencies and the possibility of open innovation.