Evaluation of the Exploratory Advanced Research Program (2022)
Chapter: Glossary of Terms
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Suggested Citation:
"Glossary of Terms." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Evaluation of the Exploratory Advanced Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
doi: 10.17226/26616.
Glossary of Terms
| Term | Definition |
| Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) | A type of federal government funding solicitation that sets broad criteria for the topics and content of proposals submitted to a funding program. |
| Deployment | Activities undertaken to encourage broader adoption of an innovation. |
| Early-stage research | Research activities conducted to advance knowledge of a scientific or technical concept from a laboratory understanding through an initial prototype in the laboratory. |
| Exploratory research | Research activities that investigate a concept developed in prior research efforts, with the intent of advancing understanding of the concept so that it can be evaluated for potential development into a technology or application. |
| Impact | Positive, negative, primary, and secondary long-term effects produced, directly or indirectly, by an intervention along with its outcomes, whether intended or unintended. See also Outcomes |
| Initial Stage Investigation (ISI) | A study undertaken by the Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program to determine whether a concept from extant research has the potential to generate a technological breakthrough. |
| Innovation | The implementation of a new or significantly improved product (good or service) or process; a new marketing method; or a new organizational method in business practices, workplace organization, or external relations.1 |
| Investigator | An individual researcher engaged in a research project. |
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1 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (2005). The Measurement of Scientific and Technological Activities: Guidelines for Collecting and Interpreting Innovation Data: Oslo Manual (3rd ed.). Prepared by the Working Party of National Experts on Scientific and Technology Indicators, OECD, Paris, France.
Suggested Citation:
"Glossary of Terms." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Evaluation of the Exploratory Advanced Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
doi: 10.17226/26616.
| Outcomes | Changes or benefits resulting from activities and outputs. Short-term outcomes produce changes in learning, knowledge, attitude, skills, or understanding. Intermediate outcomes generate changes in behavior, practice, or decisions. Long-term outcomes produce changes in condition. |
| Principal Investigator (PI) | The lead researcher named on a project awarded funding by the EAR Program. |
| Program | Any activity, project, function, or policy that has an identifiable purpose or set of objectives.2 |
| Program logic model | A schematic and description of the rationale for how the program is designed and why it is expected to produce its intended results. |
| Research | Creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humanity, culture, and society.3 |
| Research performer | An organization that carries out a funded research project. |
| Research project | A planned and systematic effort to conduct research on a specified topic with a defined start and end date. |
| Technology transition | The process by which a technology under development is transferred from one research performer to another in order to advance its development and commercialization. |
| Transition plan | A document presenting a structured approach and a list of activities to facilitate the handoff of the findings from an EAR Program project to an appropriate external organization for continued investigation and development. |
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2 Government Accountability Office (GAO). (2011). Performance Measurement and Evaluation: Definitions and Relationships. (GAO-11-646SP). Available at http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-646SP
3 OECD. (2002). Frascati Manual: Proposed Standard Practice for Surveys on Research and Experimental Development (6th ed.). Paris, France. Available at www.oecd.org/sti/frascatimanual
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