01
Are the scientific objectives well founded?
Evaluate scientific rationale, evidence, hypotheses, technical objectives and the degree to which the program is positioned to produce meaningful results.
Research Program Evaluation
Understand the program.
Test the assumptions.
Focus the work.
Independent evaluation of research programs, portfolios and scientific initiatives across scientific merit, program design, priorities, dependencies, execution and measurable outcomes.
What this means
Research programs become difficult to evaluate as their complexity grows.
Research organizations can accumulate projects, technologies, hypotheses and technical capabilities faster than they can maintain a clear view of how those pieces contribute to the larger objective.
A program may contain scientifically strong work while still having unclear priorities, dependencies between projects, duplicated effort, untested assumptions or insufficient alignment between resources and intended outcomes.
reynarun provides an independent assessment of the program as a whole. The objective is to understand both the quality of the individual work and the structure connecting it, so that scientific and technical decisions can be made with a clearer view of priorities, opportunities and constraints.
Questions we address
Evaluate the program at the level where decisions are actually made.
Program evaluations can address an individual research initiative, a portfolio of projects, a technical development program, a laboratory strategy or a broader research organization. The scope is built around the decisions the organization needs to make.
02
Are the priorities clear?
Examine how projects and resources align with the organization's objectives and whether the most important opportunities receive appropriate attention.
03
Where are the dependencies?
Identify technical, scientific, organizational and execution dependencies that influence the program's ability to achieve its intended outcomes.
04
What would improve the program?
Identify practical opportunities to sharpen priorities, strengthen evidence, improve sequencing, allocate effort or clarify expected outcomes.
Evaluation capability
Examine both the science and the architecture of the program.
Research program evaluation requires looking beyond individual projects. reynarun considers scientific merit together with program structure, technical dependencies, priorities, resources and the outcomes the organization is trying to achieve.
Scientific merit
Scientific rationale, hypotheses, evidence, technical approaches, research questions and the potential significance of the work.
Program structure
Project relationships, dependencies, sequencing, priorities, resources, capabilities and assumptions connecting the work.
Outcomes & execution
Expected outcomes, measurable objectives, execution requirements, decision points and evidence needed to determine whether the program is progressing effectively.
Where it applies
Research program evaluation for organizations making choices about where to focus.
A program evaluation can support a discrete strategic decision or provide a broader independent review of a research portfolio.
The work is useful when leadership needs an outside perspective on scientific priorities, technical direction, program structure or the relationship between ongoing work and the outcomes the organization wants to achieve.
Research portfolios
Evaluate collections of projects for scientific quality,
strategic alignment, dependencies and priorities.
R&D strategy
Assess scientific and technical direction in relation to broader
organizational objectives.
Program prioritization
Examine where resources and effort are best positioned across
competing research opportunities.
Research initiatives
Provide independent evaluation of individual programs, platforms
or major scientific initiatives.
Technical development programs
Evaluate technical dependencies, development assumptions,
sequencing and performance objectives.
Strategic reviews
Support leadership decisions involving research direction,
investment, capability development or program evolution.
Experience behind the work
The perspective comes from working across scientific and technical boundaries.
reynarun is the current firm through which this work is being delivered and expanded. Its foundation is the scientific, technical, research and advisory work conducted through Continuum beginning in 2018.
Led by Jeremy Gawryluk, PhD, that work has required understanding complex technical questions, connecting information across disciplines and evaluating how individual technical decisions affect larger objectives.
That experience forms the basis for reynarun's approach to research program evaluation: examine the individual pieces carefully while maintaining a view of how those pieces fit into the program and the decisions surrounding it.
The objective is not simply to review the research. It is to understand what the research program is positioned to accomplish.
How an evaluation works
From individual projects to a coherent program view.
The exact scope depends on the program and the decision. The process remains focused on establishing a clear picture of the scientific foundation, program structure, priorities and practical opportunities.
1
Map
Understand the program, objectives, projects, resources, available evidence and decisions that need to be supported.
2
Examine
Evaluate scientific merit, technical approaches, assumptions, dependencies, priorities and expected outcomes.
3
Synthesize
Connect individual findings into a broader assessment of program structure, opportunities and constraints.
4
Advise
Deliver a clear view of priorities, opportunities, uncertainties and practical actions that can strengthen the program.
Need an independent view of a research program?
Tell us what you're evaluating and what decision the assessment needs to support.