KEIT Spearheads R&D Innovation

Unifies R&D planning, evaluation and management of R&D projects under the control of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy

Two years have passed since the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology Evaluation and Planning (KEIT), a government-run agency under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE), was established on May 4 in 2009 as a result of the consolidation of six previous R&D organizations under the umbrella of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, the predecessor of the MKE, and the now-defunct Ministry of Communications.
KEIT President Suh Young-ju told a meeting of reporters to celebrate the second anniversary of the KEIT’s inception on May 5 his institution’s efforts to unify and advance planning, evaluation and management systems of R&D activities have paid off.
The KEIT’s responsibilities in state-fined R&D projects are enormous. The MKE has set aside 4.5 trillion for its R&D outlays. Approximately 2 trillion won or nearly half of the MKE’s R&D budget is handled by the KEIT, which is devoting itself to not just distributing its R&D outlays, but also exploring future technology by innovating the R&D support process.
The KEIT is endeavoring to upgrade the R&D support system covering the full cycle of R&D task planning, evaluation and management so that companies, research institutes and universities can devote themselves to conducting research activities with creative and challenging sprit.
Its efforts to improve the R&D support system to ensure efficient management of R&D investments and maximize research outcomes have turned to be successful.
The KEIT has been awarded with the ISO 9001 certificate for unifying planning, evaluation and management processes, which had been different according to each consolidated research institute, while the pooling of evaluation committee manpower has been integrated and overhauled. Relevant laws have been revised to lay a legal foundation for conducting a technology demand survey so that demand-oriented planning can be ensured, which such advanced evaluation as the Next year Project Selection Analysis (NEPSA) and the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) are in place. The Real-Time Cash Management System (RCMS) has been also built for ensuring transparent use of R&D outlays as part of the government’s efforts to maximize the efficiency of state-financed R&D projects.
The KEIT is now conducting the 3-UP KEIT Drive to gather and reflect its staff’ ideas the way they perform their tasks with a passion.
It is also charged with planning, evaluation and management of a project to develop the original technologies of industrial convergence that will serve as Korea’s future breadwinners, a parts and materials development project, an SME technology innovative development project, the World Premier Materials Project and the government’s World Best Software Project to create software demand.
The KEIT is trying to ramp up evaluation expertise so that it can establish itself as a world-class R&D institution by innovating the MKE’s R&D projects in accordance with the tree principles of the government’s second stage MKE R&D strategies' challenge, shared growth and confidence.
The KEIT president said, R&D investments are essential amid an unlimited global competition among countries armed technologies. R&D success stories not only bring about such tremendous values as the contribution to the development of the national economy, enhancing the quality of people’s life and creation of jobs, but also serve as a corner stone to upgrade the nation’s standing externally. nw

(counterclockwise) Korea Institute of Industrial Technology Evaluation and Planning (KEIT) President Suh Young-ju speaks at a ceremony to mark the first anniversary of its establishment; KEIT President Suh presents awards to exemplary staff members at the ceremony.